Women of NAD: Hazel Wong

FORT HAMILTON, N.Y. (March 31, 2023) -- Hazel Wong, emergency operations manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division, first came to the United States when she was 21, looking for work opportunities to support her family and escape hardships back home in Burma (Myanmar).

“The only focus I had was ‘get out of that country, do whatever I can and if I can support the family, that would be great, and I don’t want to depend on anybody,’” Wong said. “Which meant I had to make sure I had a job.”

She was the sole breadwinner for her family, including eight siblings, and while she was in the U.S. with her husband, each took care of their own families.

“I was supporting my family and the same with him,” Wong said. “So instead of me trying to ask him to support my family, I just did everything for my family.

“It is stressful, but you just don’t think about it. You just think ahead. What do I need? How am I going to get it done? where should I go from there. If I look back and ask, ‘how did I do that?’ I just say, ‘I don’t know.’”

Another reason for coming to the U.S. was Wong had also never been a citizen of a country and had no opportunity for education nor work due to citizenship, her father refusing to apply for Burmese citizenship.

“My father is stubborn,” Wong said. “Even though two generations were born over there, we were not citizens unless we [applied for it]. My stubborn dad said, ‘I won’t apply. I’m Chinese.’”

While working as a seamstress and then as a clerk for a printing company, Wong studied both English and for her General Education Development Test. She obtained her GED diploma in 1983.

“I knew some English, but not enough. When asked what I wanted to eat, all I would know is ‘rice’ and ‘veggies’ and not even the different types of veggies.

“It was scary. At the same time, you just have to realize that you have to keep pushing, do the best you can, and learn every day,” Wong said.

Wong had heard if she got a job with the government there were many opportunities to continue her learning, and it became her goal. This came to fruition when someone she knew who worked at the U.S. General Services Administration told her about an open clerk position in the real estate division at the USACE New York District. She became a naturalized citizen in 1986 and soon after applied to and joined USACE that same year.

From there, she was able to take another position as a secretary with real estate at NAD in 1990. She said she had enjoyed working with USACE, but when 9/11 occurred, she found the career path she ultimately wanted to pursue further.

The NAD Emergency Management Office was calling for additional help after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. Wong volunteered to provide support, joining the Engineering Link, or ENGLink, Strike Team, one of the various planning and response teams. The group is responsible for keeping track of response operations events, mission assignments, USACE response operations funds and entering commander assessments, operational statuses and deployment reports.

“That was a time I saw all different fields and what they were doing, and I really liked emergency support. I said, ‘Oh, this is good. We can provide support when the need arises,” Wong said.

The event persuaded Wong to pursue a job in emergency management. She continued to provide support as a strike team member but kept monitoring for an emergency management position. Her chance finally came in 2009 when she applied for an open position at the NAD Emergency Management Office and became an emergency management technician.

“When I started, I didn’t think it [emergency management] would be that broad,” Wong said. “You will have to work with almost every function with different types of coordination. After a few years, l learned from each event that there’s different requirements and different coordination. It’s not just internally we have to do coordination, there will be coordination with different organizations, like FEMA, the state and the Defense Coordinating Element.”

Wong has since worked her way up to being an emergency operation manager, having earned several awards over the years for her work in the pandemic, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Katrina.

During a recent Deputy Commander/Emergency Management workshop, Stephen L. Hill, director of contingency operations and chief, office of homeland security and a member of the Senior Executive Service, presented Wong with a coin for the support she’s provided throughout the years.

“It feels great that someone recognizes what you have done,” Wong said. “When you work behind the scenes, sometimes you may feel no one notices, but they did notice the work I’ve done, and that makes me feel really good. I would say without the USACE team, I wouldn’t be here. They teach you almost every day. They support you, and they will provide guidance whenever there is a need, which is a best practice. Without them, I’d be nowhere.”