After Fugate, Prospects for FEMA's Top Job

This post was originally posted in two parts on Security Debrief on October 7 and 11, 2016

Part 1 - https://securitydebrief.com/2016/10/07/prospects-fema-administrator-part-1/  

Part 2- https://securitydebrief.com/2016/10/11/after-fugate-prospects-for-femas-top-job-part-2/

DHS has a number of critically important and public facing jobs, but none is arguably more important or public facing than that of FEMA Administrator. It’s a job where you get all of the blame if things go wrong and little credit or public accolade if things go well. It’s a complex position as an all-hazards agency means you have to prepare for everything—hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes, terrorism, and even electromagnetic pulses from sun spots. As the top emergency response coordinator for the federal government, FEMA plays an essential role in bringing federal, state, local and tribal resources, along with the private sector and others, to render aid and get recovery operations moving.

FEMA Administrator is not a job for just for anyone. On top of the straightforward requirements set by Congress and the Bush Administration enacted after Hurricane Katrina, it requires a cool head, good communications skills, and the ability to convey confidence and strong leadership to the public and the agency’s partners. Any wavering in any of those areas will only make that person’s job and the agency’s overall performance harder.

That’s one of the many reasons current FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has been a success. In the position for nearly 8 years, Fugate brought with him tried, true and tested experience as Florida’s Emergency Management Director where he had seen fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, power failures and so forth. He also had phenomenal relationships with his emergency management peers in the public and private sectors around the country as well.

Fugate has brought stability, organizational process and leadership to FEMA building off of many of the post-Katrina reforms that were initially enacted by his predecessor, David Paulison and his team. The Obama Administration has certainly had its share of fires, floods, hurricanes and other major emergency events that have occurred on its watch, and FEMA has performed fairly well. While many of the emergency events have made front page news, FEMA as an agency has not and that is a good thing. If they were making front page news, it probably means there has been a major screw up and that has not happened.

FEMA’s performance over the past decade has been fairly solid, but that does not mean we should take the agency and its people and progress for granted. Emergency management requires dedicated time, resources, attention and leadership. You must prepare all of those things on the “good days” so they are in working order on the “bad days.” Trying to assemble those capacities during a disaster situation puts you behind the eight ball and that is never good.

The truth is Craig Fugate will be hard to replace as Administrator and if he wants to stick around in the job, it would be to the next Administration’s benefit to keep him at FEMA as long as possible. But if he’s had enough (and his wife and family have had enough as well), profiled below are some names of people who might make suitable replacements. I’ve gathered these names not only from my own interactions and observations with many of them, but through the wise counsel of a number of others in the emergency management community.

Note that I have not divided these names into partisan categories. To me, the FEMA Administrator position transcends party labels and politics. As much as the FEMA Administrator is providing emergency management counsel and assistance to the President and the DHS Secretary, they are working America’s “bad days” for Americans—and bad days do not pick a side of the aisle. They strike regardless of political persuasion, geography or any other sub-dividing category.

Many of the names you might recognize; others you may not. But each of these people and their emergency management peers are working day and night to plan, prepare, partner and respond as best as they can to whatever hazard arrives. In no particular order, here is Part 1 of my two-part series listing some folks to consider for FEMA Administrator.

Craig Fugate, Administrator, FEMA – If he wants to stick around FEMA even longer, the next President should let him. Fugate has become the new metric by which every future FEMA Administrator will be measured. I’ve yet to find anyone in DC or elsewhere that would like to see him exit, but maybe his wife and family have other ideas (which is completely understandable). As one emergency management colleague shared with me, a year at FEMA should be measured in “dog years” given the pressures and demands upon its people, families and resources.

Brian Kamoie, Assistant Administrator, Grant Programs, FEMA – When you are responsible for awarding FEMA grant dollars as Brian Kamoie is, you have a lot of people around the country who want to be your friend. It also means you have a lot of explaining to do to members of Congress and other leaders about what they received and what they did not. Kamoie has brought stability and clarity to one of the toughest positions within FEMA and DHS. His ability to craft effective relationships and get things done are hallmarks of a career that has had him serve at the National Security Council in both the Obama and Bush Administrations dealing with H1N1 flu, the BP/Gulf Oil Spill, the Fukushima Earthquake/Nuclear Emergency and other emergencies. Kamoie also served in senior preparedness positions at the Department of Health & Human Services, which is where was first noticed for his forward-leaning, proactive stances on policy and programs in national readiness and resilience.

Bryan Koon, Director, Florida Division of Emergency Management – There is probably only one other state in the US that rivals California in terms of complexity in emergency management risks, hazards, operations and volume: Florida. While hurricanes are often the threat most associated with the Sunshine State and its 1,197 miles of coastline, it has more than its share of other risks and challenges as well. Leading its emergency management efforts is not only a Navy veteran but also the former head of Wal-Mart’s Operations Manager and Director of Emergency Management, Bryan Koon. When you are the world’s number-one retailer, staying open and in business is a top priority. So is making sure all of your stores, drivers, employees and operations are ready for whatever may come their way. That was his job for 5 years, and it’s just one of the many reasons Gov. Rick Scott tapped Koon to lead Florida’s emergency management operations. He has policy, programmatic and operational expertise that are second to none. If he didn’t already have enough on his plate, Koon is also the current President of the National Emergency Managers Association (NEMA).

Daniel Craig, CEO & President, Tidal Basin Holdings – Bringing state, regional and federal experience to the table is Dan Craig who previously led FEMA’s Division of Recovery, which was responsible for working with community leaders and residents after response and emergency services have left town. Recovery is one of the toughest challenges for any community, and Craig’s experience at several levels of these operations (including as the FEMA Region 1 Administrator) has him attuned to the challenges of the agency’s top position. He’s now working in the private sector serving as the CEO and President of Tidal Basin Holdings, Inc., a national consulting firm specializing in supporting governments with pre- and post-disaster recovery programs. Prior positions include work for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and teaching at the University of Maryland University College as an adjunct professor of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Jim Featherstone, President and CEO, Homeland Security Advisory Council – California is a 24/7, 365-day, four-season emergency management challenge in planning and response, and Los Angeles (like other major metropolises) never sleeps. Jim Featherstone’s 8 years as the top emergency manager for the City of Los Angeles, following a 22-year career in its fire department (as well as firefighter union president), put him front and center on a range of high-profile emergencies and events. Being at its epicenter in Los Angeles for more than three decades has given Featherstone plenty of hands-on experience in bad-day readiness and response. He presently serves as President and CEO of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Mark Ghilarducci, Director, California Office of Emergency Management, (Cal OES) – Having already served two California Governors as the top emergency manager, Mark Ghilarducci is a proven hand in dealing with California’s bad days. Now serving as the Director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), he is presiding over one of the most complex, most tested emergency networks in the country, if not the world. While I’m sure there are those who might question his sanity for taking on this incredibly challenging job twice, it is also testament to his commitment to the Golden State and the emergency management profession.

Matt Bettenhausen, Chief Security Officer, AEG Worldwide – Another veteran of managing disasters and risks in California is also one of the people who led the state’s reorganization efforts nearly a decade ago to create the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA). Now serving as the Chief Security Officer for one of the world’s largest venue owners and operators, AEG Worldwide, Matt Bettenhausen looks after the safety of millions of people in arenas, sports stadiums, theaters and entertainment facilities around the globe. From the Olympics to games for professional sports leagues, this former federal prosecutor from Chicago has spent a lot of time developing the security operations, resilience procedures and information sharing networks for states, law enforcement and emergency management agencies, as well as sports and entertainment venues in the United States and around the world. 

Chris Geldart, Director, DC Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency – When you are the person in charge of emergency management for the nation’s capital, somehow everything and every day ends up being a part of your responsibilities. Chris Geldart has proven he’s more than capable of doing the job. Now serving his second DC Mayor, Geldart brings with him private, public and military experience to a job that has many people claiming to be in charge while none of the acumen or willingness to bring them together to make things happen effectively. Maybe it is his Marine Corps training kicking in, but Geldart gets to the point of problems quickly so his leadership can make the decisions they need to protect and preserve lives and property as quickly as possible. When your city hosts everything from Presidential Inaugurations, huge 4th of July celebrations, weekend marathons, protests, as well as neighborhood festivals (while also being one of the world’s biggest terrorism targets), every day has the potential for challenge. DC Emergency Management has proven they know what they are doing.

Nancy Ward, Chief Deputy Director, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalEOS) – The role of FEMA Administrator is one Nancy Ward is already familiar with given that she was the Acting Administrator for nearly 5 months before Craig Fugate took the job in 2009. If that was not enough on-the-job exposure, her time serving as the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region IX had her leading one of the most expansive, complex, risk- and disaster-prone areas of the country. Every FEMA leadership job has its challenges, but Region IX is an Olympiad of experiences to handle and it’s something she did very well for nearly a decade. (FYI – Region IX includes Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.) Upon leaving FEMA, she joined the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services where she presently serves as its Chief Deputy Director.

Bob Fenton, Regional Administrator, FEMA Region IX – Succeeding Nancy Ward was a tough act for anyone to follow, but as someone who had been an active leader with FEMA Region IX as, well as at FEMA Headquarters in DC, Bob Fenton was a smart pick. He’s been active in California emergency management for decades and also has significant experience in working with a range of governmental partners as part of the interagency process. He’s also been on the ground during some of FEMA’s biggest response and recovery operations, including several Gulf Coast hurricanes (including Katrina), the 9/11 attacks in NYC, and even a typhoon in Guam. In the early 1990s, when he worked as the Chief of Field Operations for Portable Water Supply Systems, he deployed to Central Africa as a lead member of the U.S. emergency response relief effort, bringing lifesaving assistance to Rwandan refugees.

Anne Kronenberg, Executive Director, Department of Emergency Management (DEM), City & County of San Francisco – Taking over San Francisco’s DEM in December 2010, Ann Kronenberg leads the emergency operations for a community that is on a fault line that everyone fears could lead to one of this country’s biggest disasters. Prior to her present position, she helped lead the San Francisco Department of Public Health, where she was responsible for disaster preparedness, pre-hospital emergency medical services, medical surge, multiple casualty incidents and mass prophylaxis planning. If she didn’t already have her hands full with her present job, Kronenberg also serves as chair of the Approval Authority for the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), which manages more than $150 million in federal homeland security grant funding for the 10 Bay Area counties. She also possesses significant experience in working on the federal, state and local levels of government.

Michael Dayton, Deputy Director, Department of Emergency Management (DEM), City & County of San Francisco – California has more than its share of experienced emergency management leaders, but Michael Dayton is among one its most accomplished. Having served three different governors with responsibilities for emergency management and homeland security functions, including as Acting Secretary for the California Emergency Management Agency and the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor, Dayton now serves as San Francisco’s DEM Deputy Director overseeing the city and county’s Emergency Services Division and the Emergency Medical Services Agency. Given where he’s lived and worked most of this life, he’s spent considerable time working on earthquake readiness efforts, as well as other emergency preparedness, port and transit security, criminal justice, and victim services grant programs.

Eileen Decker, US Attorney, Central District of California – Leading the largest U.S. Attorney Office in the country outside of Washington, DC, and as the chief federal law enforcement officer, Eileen Decker is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced emergency management and homeland security leaders in the country. She could just as easily be on the short list to be the next DHS Secretary, but her 6 years as Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety for Los Angeles gave her significant oversight of the planning and operations for the city’s police, fire and emergency management departments. Decker has served as the liaison for Los Angeles to all federal law enforcement agencies, which is essential for effective planning and preparedness for the range of risks and threats the region faces. 

Arif Alikhan, Special Assistant for Constitutional Policing and Commanding Officer – Arif Alikhan brings significant and diverse experience to the table for consideration. City, state, federal and private sectors have all benefited from his skill and leadership, and that is something you hear from anyone who has ever worked with him. He’s been a police officer, prosecutor, deputy mayor, counterterrorism officer, as well as a DHS Assistant Secretary, educator and strategic advisor to a number of notable cities, states and government agencies. Now working at the LAPD as its Special Assistant for Constitutional Policing and Commanding Officer, Alikhan was previously been charged with protecting one of the world’s most prominent terrorism targets: the Los Angeles International Airport. Alikhan has always impressed those with whom he works for his approachability, focus on the facts and willingness to work with others. Those qualities and more make him a person to watch for future national leadership roles, whether at FEMA or elsewhere.

Darrell Darnell, GWU’s Senior Associate Vice President for Safety and Security – Darrell Darnell safeguards one of the country’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning: George Washington University (GWU). In safeguarding a busy campus as Senior Associate Vice President for Safety and Security, he has to work closely with his high-profile neighbors, who happen to be the White House, the State Department, several notable government buildings and embassies, all while keeping watch over one of the city’s busiest hospitals. His time leading DC’s Emergency Management team gave him plenty of training for his current role, as did his stint at the White House National Security Council, where he worked on critical infrastructure protection and resilience policy issues. He’s also the person responsible for connecting DC Emergency Management to social media in 2009, quickly recognizing the value-added it could provide to real-time operations of events in the nation’s capital.

Jason McNamara, Senior Director for Emergency Management Programs, CNA Corporation – Bringing both public and private sector experience to the table is Jason McNamara. He served as Craig Fugate’s first Chief of Staff when he joined FEMA in 2009, where he helped further cement a number of the post-Katrina reforms that have made the Agency even stronger and more capable. After 4 years in that role, he left FEMA for the private sector to continue serving the emergency management mission. Today, he works as the Senior Director for Emergency Management Programs in the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) Corporation. His time as a Hill staffer for the Select Committee on Homeland Security should not be forgotten, as he understands that the needs of congressional members, staffers and their interests cannot be ignored.

Tom Atkin, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security; retired Rear Admiral, USCG – While he may have “Acting” in front of his present title, there is nothing acting or temporary about Tom Atkin’s performance. During his distinguished 30-year U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) career, Atkin served as Chief of Staff to Adm. Thad Allen during the Hurricane Katrina emergency, where he helped the New Orleans and surrounding parishes get back on their feet. He also created the USCG’s Deployment Operations Group (DOG), and served at the National Security Council. Atkin is known for building rapport among diverse interests to serve mission goals. Like his friend and mentor former USCG Commandant Thad Allen, Atkin is a lifelong learner who is not afraid to ask questions or start a conversation to get smarter on topics he needs to understand. He’s also willing to step forward in tough situations to fix problems, as he had to do on countless occasions during the Hurricane Katrina recovery operations in addressing the leadership dysfunctions that existed from the New Orleans Mayor’s Office to the Louisiana Governor’s Office.

Dennis Schrader, Secretary of Appointments, Office of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan – He may be an industrial engineer by training, but Dennis Schrader is well-versed in the policies, operations and politics of emergency management. Having served as the Director of the State of Maryland’s Office of Homeland Security under then-Gov. Bob Ehrlich, Dennis Schrader joined FEMA Headquarters as its Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness. He has played significant leadership roles in advising federal, state, local, and private sector leaders on preparedness, resilience policies, critical infrastructure protection and healthcare operations. Today, he works in Annapolis as Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s Secretary of Appointments, keeping the Free State in great shape.

Bruce Fitzgerald, Director, Maine Emergency Management Agency – While Maine does not have the epic challenges of a California or Florida, Maine still encounters its share of flooding, dangerous storms and brutal winters. Bruce Fitzgerald leads Maine’s efforts to keep those hazards at bay. He’s spent his entire career in service to the state, whether working for its members of Congress and various Governors or helping to stand up its homeland security operations in the years following the September 11 attacks. Fitzgerald has proven himself to be a great neighbor to other New England states in sharing best practices and providing assistance to those who have called upon him when needed. That’s one of the reasons he was tapped to be the Region 1 lead for all of NEMA, giving voice, insight and perspective to his fellow New Englanders.

Ross Ashley, Senior Vice President, SAP National Security Services – During the early years of its operations, DHS/FEMA’s Grant Programs were essentially all over the map with little to no order, clarity or direction. Enter Ross Ashley, who took over as the Assistant Administrator for FEMA’s Grant Programs in the latter half of the Bush Administration and brought order and focus where chaos and confusion had previously reigned. He not only calmed the always turbulent waters with Congress but built a number of systems that allowed for greater transparency and effectiveness in the challenging grants processes. After leaving FEMA in 2009 for the private sector, Ashley went on to found and become the Executive Director for the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA), which represents the interests of all 78 State and Major Urban area Intelligence Fusion Centers. After handing over the reins of that organization, he joined SAP’s National Security Services Division as its Senior Vice President in 2015.

Bob Connors, Director, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Raytheon – Short of anyone working in the military or intelligence communities, Bob Connors is the only emergency manager I know of who has had to undertake emergency management plans on every continent on the planet. With more than 30 years at defense/aerospace leader Raytheon, Bob Connors has been one of the most vocal and proactive leaders in the private sector on the issue of preparedness. An early proponent of ANSI/NFPA 1600, the voluntary private sector preparedness standard endorsed by the 9/11 Commission in its final report, Connors is both practitioner and evangelist on these issues. As threats and risks have evolved, so too has Connors’ willingness to engage experts in cybersecurity to prepare his company, its customers and the country. Connors is also a former member of FEMA’s National Advisory Council and is active in the New England emergency management community.

Marko Bourne, Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton – Another veteran of the FEMA executive leadership ranks, Marko Bourne previously served the agency as its Director of Policy, as well as in the senior ranks of its Preparedness Division. Working with Administrator David Paulison, he was instrumental in putting in place a number of the post-Katrina reforms that re-conditioned the agency to be a stronger, more responsive and collaborative unit. Now working with Booz Allen Hamilton for almost a decade, where he helps lead its emergency management practice, Bourne got his start in emergency management in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania two decades ago.

Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness, FEMA – As one of the few Senate-confirmed appointees at FEMA, Tim Manning is one of the agency’s senior most leaders. Joining FEMA at the same time Craig Fugate took over in 2009, Manning came to the job from the New Mexico, where he had been the Enchanted State’s Director of the Office of Emergency Management and Deputy Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety for Emergency Services. A longtime active member of NEMA, Manning was also one of the early proponents for greater engagement by federal, state, local and tribal government engagement with the private sector in emergency preparedness and response. He also possesses firsthand experience as a former fighter, EMT and mountain rescue specialist.

Jim McPherson, Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator, FEMA Region I – FEMA may be the center of emergency management for the federal government, but the skills and leadership developed by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) prepare its leaders to handle the really tough days with professionalism and effectiveness. Those words were shared with me by someone who has worked with USCG Captain Jim McPherson. Now working with FEMA Region I, McPherson previously served as the Chief of Staff for an 8-state Northeast region, stretching from the Canadian border to New Jersey. Those responsibilities included supervising operations supporting U.S. Marine Transportation System and Maritime Homeland Security for more than one million square miles of the Atlantic Ocean.

Juliette Kayyem, former DHS A/S and MA Homeland Security Advisor, CNN National Security Commentator – Juliette Kayyem is the self-described “Security Mom,” who brings phenomenal state and national security experience to the table. Politically savvy, thoughtful and an exceptional communicator, she also brings a common, practical and very human touch to homeland security and preparedness issues. That common touch is on full display whenever CNN or any other media outlet has her on to comment on homeland and national security issues, or whenever she issues another of her podcasts on WGBH out of Boston. The one-time Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial candidate may want to bow out of consideration for the FEMA post in favor of another run for Massachusetts governor, or an even bigger appointment in the next Administration, but she is a name and thought leader on the rise who garners a lot of respect from people on both sides of the political aisles.

Becky Denlinger, Deputy Minister for Emergency Management, Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure, Canada – This may be an absolute wildcard pick, but Becky Dellinger is someone who has led emergency management efforts on both sides of U.S.-Canada border. Now serving as Deputy Minister for Emergency Management for the Canadian Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure, Dellinger previously served as Fire Commissioner for British Columbia, as well as Fire Chief in Cobb County, Georgia. Those who have worked with her speak admirably of her teamwork skills, and given the increasing complexity of risks, threats and disasters, having someone who has leadership experience on these issues with another country might be worthy of consideration for the future of FEMA’s leadership.