Center’s Blog
Use this page to stay up-to-date on COVID-19, homeland security emergency management, campus safety, job resources, career pathways, upcoming webinars, scholarships, Washington State news and more.
Year of Resilience 2024
Year of Resilience 2024 By Linda Crerar In 2012, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) introduced the Whole Community Emergency Management Strategy to coordinate all levels of government, increase individual preparedness, and engage with members of the as vital partners to strengthen resiliency and security in this country. [...]
Paid Internships in Conservation Law Enforcement
Paid Internships in Conservation Law Enforcement By Captain Phil Johnson For the past several years, Washington state has finished last in law enforcement staffing, lagging behind all 50 states and the District of Columbia at 1.35 police officers per thousand residents. This number continues to decline as the [...]
Apprenticeships, Internships, and Skill Centers
Apprenticeships, Internships, and Skill Centers By Nancy Aird What is your future? The future is always part of life. There are no one-size-fits-all plans for career and educational pathways after graduation, unemployment, or changing career goals. For example, my path diverged from my B.S. in Police Science and Administration. I [...]
July is Disability Pride Month
On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed in to law which prohibits any discrimination based on disability. Since then, July has been celebrated as Disability Pride Month. In 1990, the first Disability Pride Day was held in Boston and the first Disability Pride Parade was held in Chicago in 2004.
FEMA’s Whole Community Continuity Brochure
FEMA's Whole Community Continuity Brochure Every day, individuals, organizations, and government institutions conduct critical services and perform essential functions upon which neighbors and communities depend. The ability to continually perform such services comprises an important component of resilience, the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions [...]
Women in Leadership 2025 Location Announcement
We are thrilled to announce the Women in Leadership Symposium 2025, hosted by the Center of Excellence - Homeland Security Emergency Management, will be held at Lower Columbia College in Longview, WA.
Happy Juneteenth 2024
Juneteenth is not only a day to celebrate freedom, but also a time to reflect on the struggles of the past, honor the achievements of African Americans, and renew commitments to justice, equality, and unity in our communities.
Strategic Foresight III – The “Quiet Part”
Strategic Foresight III - "The Quiet Part" Emergency Management Once Removed July 12, 2024 By Jim Mullen “Strategic foresight’s” absence was evident on January 6, 2021. Warnings signs were clearly “missed. Outnumbered, heroic police officers held the line that day, preventing a coup. Must they stand alone next time? [...]
Strategic Foresight II
The non-partisan federal Government Accountability Office (GAO ) is entrusted with responsibility “to investigate and oversee the activities of the executive branch, to control the use of federal funds….” Housed within GAO, the Center for Strategic Foresight analyzes trends that will likely impact the federal government and society in the next 5-15 years.
Happy Pride Month 2024
Happy Pride Month! By Jasmine May Each June, the LGBTQIA+ community celebrates Pride Month which started after the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York. Pride Month serves as a tribute to the history and influence of the community worldwide while also standing against discrimination and violence. It [...]
Strategic Foresight I: A Pathway to National Resilience
The non-partisan federal Government Accountability Office (GAO ) is entrusted with responsibility “to investigate and oversee the activities of the executive branch, to control the use of federal funds….” Housed within GAO, the Center for Strategic Foresight analyzes trends that will likely impact the federal government and society in the next 5-15 years.
Rosie the Riveter
Rosie the Riveter By Nancy Aird The iconic face of Rosie promoted the female defense workers during World War II, but the name of the worker was unknown. The first poster image was titled “We Can Do It!”. J. Howard Miller created the iconic women in a red bandana [...]
A Salute to “Rosies” Past and Present
It never hurts to look back on our history, if for no other reason than to avoid repeating it!
Women in Leadership Profile: Assistant Chief Martin
Women in Leadership Profile: Assistant Chief Martin By Deb Moller Assistant Chief Martin of the Washington State Patrol has a strong memory of being five years old, seeing a police car, and knowing that when she grew up, she would work in law enforcement. For AC Martin, this wasn’t [...]
Not Nearly Enough
Even predictable natural disasters frequently catch elected officials by surprise. A discouraging number of elected officials and senior staff act as if foreseeing and managing potential disaster impacts is a job for “another budget cycle.” So what are they doing in the meantime? Not nearly enough”.
After the Wildfire – Recovery and Reclamation of Land Tips
After the Wildfire – Recovery and Reclamation of Land Tips By Nancy Aird As the population builds out into rural areas, the chances of wildfire impacting your life increases with damage possible away from the direct wildfire. The severity of the fire impacts not only the vegetation we see, [...]
Are You Wildfire Ready?
ARE YOU WILDFIRE READY? Mitigate, Prepare and Prevent By Nancy Aird The wildland urban interface (WUI) is the area where homes are built near or among lands prone to wildland fire. Homeowners value their privacy, natural beauty, recreational opportunities and affordable living created by buying in neighborhoods built in [...]
What Goes Around…
The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program has long been the life’s blood of state and local government’s ability to prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover from disasters.
Goldilocks Zone Resilience Against Climate Change
Weather specifically happens over a period of hours or days, while climate influences show over years.
Why We Need More Women in Leadership Roles!
From 2015 to 2018, the Center put on four Women in Leadership Forums centered on different topics from HSEM, Criminal Justice, Information Technology, and Politics.
Whodunnitt!
WHODUNNITT! By Jim Mullen I have observed the renewal of a “debate” of sorts that seems to preoccupy some emergency management academics and practitioners: aren’t most disasters man- made and not ”natural?” -an interesting proposition if there weren’t more pragmatic concerns for emergency managers. We could trace our problems [...]
Women in Leadership Symposium 2024
This year's symposium will center around the importance of fostering robust and dynamic relationships and partnerships with women in Resilience Management and associated fields
The Rocky Road Ahead
The Rocky Road Ahead Emergency Management Once Removed January 31, 2023 By Jim Mullen “Wake me up when it’s all over, when I’m wiser and I’m older…” * Emergency managers (state and local) may be excused for feeling this way during most election years, when relatively minor incidents can [...]
The Blame Game
The Blame Game Emergency Management Once Removed January 16, 2023 By Jim Mullen Major disasters occur all the time, usually resulting in inquiries about the degree of advance warning, or the level of preparation of authorities for a worst-case scenario. “Blame” most often accompanies catastrophic events when perceptions are [...]
The Earth is “Illin”
The Earth is "Illin" Emergency Management Once Removed December 19, 2023 By Jim Mullen Last May the Associated Press reported that a study by the international Earth Commission (our planet’s annual “wellness check”) suggests that Planet Earth has entered the danger zone with respect to climatic impacts on “phosphorus [...]