Everyone has a boss. Emergency managers are no exception. Sometimes the position of emergency manager reports to a senior appointed official like the public works director or the fire chief. Others report directly to an elected official, mayor, fire chief or county commissioners. I was fortunate to work for a senior appointed official—a Deputy County Executive. This podcast is an interview with Paul Tanaka, my former boss. In this episode I probe Paul, who is retired now, for information about how he viewed emergency management as a function and what the relationship should be between an emergency manager and his direct supervisor. I also asked Mr. Tanaka about people who think that being an emergency management director brought with it certain political risks for their employment that they are concerned about. This episode is sponsored by Bent Ear Solutions which offers comprehensive capabilities and deep industry knowledge necessary to help you solve the most complex issues of your organization. We advise public and private organizations on an all-inclusive approach to disaster preparedness that addresses governance, planning, operational procedures, technology implementation, training, and exercises in order to achieve a successful and sustainable program.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Food insecurity is a huge issue in the United States, and it got worst during the coronavirus pandemic. One organization at the center of coordinating and providing food to people who need it is Feeding America. This podcast is an interview with Vince Davis, Director of Disasters Services for Feeding America. In our conversation we discuss their role in providing support to day-to-day food bank operations throughout the United States. Then, we also go into the role the organization plays in disasters. The coordination that is needed by governments with state and local food banks is something that Vince emphasizes. The goal is to have these relationships in place before there is a disaster.

This episode is sponsored by The Blue Cell, a by design crisis and consequence management consulting firm with a primary focus on education and training for government at all levels, non governmental agencies and private sector entities engaged in incident and emergency management activities.

Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Michele Wucker is an author, speaker and strategist on the topic of risk. Her most recent book is You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World  

This podcast interviews her about her expertise and questions are centered on topics of interest to individuals and emergency managers when it comes to disasters. This would be an excellent text for courses in emergency management to educate people on the topic of risk, so we can manage it ourselves and address programmatic and public education efforts with a more informed position. 

Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.

Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

In this podcast we learn about the National Health Security Preparedness Index This index gets an annual update and looks at the public health readiness of all 50 states and Washington, D.C.  The show’s guest is Glen Mays, Professor and Chair, Department of Health Systems, Management & Policy, Colorado School of Public Health. We discuss what criteria is used to achieve ratings and how over 200 data points are used to achieve a state-by-state rating. Additionally, we look at the pandemic and what it showed about public health readiness and plans to improve the functioning of the index. The new 2021 index will launch on June 9, 2021. This episode is sponsored by The Blue Cell, a by design crisis and consequence management consulting firm with a primary focus on education and training for government at all levels, non governmental agencies and private sector entities engaged in incident and emergency management activities.


Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

If you are going to invest time, energy and money into becoming more disaster resilient, what type of effort are you putting into the social capital of your community or organization? Daniel Aldrich, Director of the Resilience and Security Studies Program at Northeastern University shares in this podcast the importance of investing in social capital and how it can pay huge dividends. Having survived losing his home and all his possessions during Hurricane Katrina, he has some practical knowledge about the topic of social capital in disasters. His most recent book is Black Wave: How Networks and Governance Shaped Japan's 3/11 Disasters.

Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.

Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

It is now possible to get an online degree as a Master of Infrastructure Planning and Management. This podcast is an interview with Wendy Freitag, Program Director for the University of Washington’s program linked above. In this podcast we talk generally about online degrees in general, to include those in emergency management. How they compare school to school and with resident courses of study. A bit of history on higher education in emergency management is included along with more specifics on the University of Washington’s program. With all the current talk of a large infrastructure funding bill, this program might just be the ticket for your future. Note: I am on the advisory board for the degree program. This episode is sponsored by The Blue Cell, a by design crisis and consequence management consulting firm with a primary focus on education and training for government at all levels, non governmental agencies and private sector entities engaged in incident and emergency management activities.

Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Emergency management organizations have now been immersed in COVID-19 response for over a year. This podcast is an interview with Jody Ferguson, Director for Pierce County Department of Emergency Management. In it we explore how her department responded first to the call to help with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) distribution and then more recently with mass vaccination efforts by the county. We also discuss how she views the “distraction” of having to focus on COVID-19 versus the normal emergency management program requirements. 

Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

In the podcast we talk about the cybersecurity threats and different approaches being used to counter those threats. Cybersecurity training is one of those and it has become something employees must accomplish as part of organizational standards. There are many mistakes that companies and governments make in their approaches to this training. Heather Stratford, CEO for Drip7 is the Disaster Zone guest. She suggests new methods for cybersecurity training. Micro-learning and the gamification of the training are two breakthrough concepts they offer. Heather was an engaging guest who knows the business of cybersecurity inside and out. Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Emergency management is primarily known as a profession that responds to disasters. Another very important aspect of the discipline of emergency management is disaster mitigation. This podcast focuses on a relatively new federal program called Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BIRC). Derrick Hiebert, Deloitte is the mitigation expert interviewed in this recording. He shares the key elements every organization needs to take in order to leverage the hundreds of millions of dollars that are available to government organizations and jurisdictions.  

This episode is sponsored by The Blue Cell, a by design crisis and consequence management consulting firm with a primary focus on education and training for government at all levels, non governmental agencies and private sector entities engaged in incident and emergency management activities.

Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

What does disaster readiness look like for the Pacific Northwest from a person coming to the topic with a fresh point of view? Brian Landon, an attorney, writer and director is working on a master’s degree and his project is examining how the Cascadia Subduction Zone will impact the State of Oregon and other parts of the Northwest. He comes to the task with more of a world view having lived and worked in other countries. This interview is a discussion of his observations and a comparison with other nation’s approaches to government and civil society.

Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.