The best person to manage your career is yourself. No one else is going to do it for you. The podcast guest for this episode of Disaster Zone is Laurie Holien, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Programs at Idaho State University.

Laurie Holien is an Associate Professor and Director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management degree programs at Idaho State University. Prior to working in academics, she was the Deputy Director at Oregon Emergency Management. She has 21 years of operational experience in security, emergency management, critical infrastructure, and academics. She has served as the NPS-CHDS Alumni Fellow for FEMA HQ, working in the National Response Coordination Center. She consulted as an Operations Research Analyst working with the Department of the Navy, Dept of Homeland Security, FEMA, and local agencies. Laurie worked for many years in local government as a strategic advisor and security manager responsible for critical infrastructure protection and emergency management missions at the City of Seattle, Public Utilities Department, and served as the Planning Section Chief on a level 3 Incident Management Team. Ms. Holien earned her master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Washington.

Laurie has had a wide range of experiences working in the emergency management profession. In the podcast we talk about education, generalists vs. specialists, mentors and mentoring. We also dive into the challenges that you might run into as a woman in the profession and potential ethics issues you could bump into as you assume more responsible roles in the profession.

Merit is a first-of-its-kind, all-hazards, digital credentialing platform that equips emergency responders with innovative tools to securely manage their personnel on-site, no matter the situation. Merit's platform is relied on in mission-critical situations such as the Surfside building collapse and at secure Health and Human Service facilities and is trusted by a growing network of thousands of partners. 
 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.