In this special episode, Jason and Wesley talk with former acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, Pete Gaynor. Upon his appointment by the President of the United States, Mr. Gaynor oversaw some 300 disasters in his tenure as FEMA administrator, including one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons in history and the agency’s first ever pandemic response. https://www.dhs.gov/person/peter-t-gaynor

Mr. Gaynor explains the responsibilities of FEMA and its relationship with state and local jurisdictions, and how it relates to national resilience. They also discuss the responsibilities of the average citizen and some practical suggestions on how to prepare for disasters, including a helpful tool–the FEMA mobile app.https://www.fema.gov/about/news-multimedia/mobile-app-text-messages

After his term at FEMA, Pete Gaynor now works as the Senior Vice President and Director of National Resilience, Response, and Recovery Programs for the LiRo group, a private architecture and design firm providing a wide range of services for the public and private sectors.https://www.liro.com

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