By David E. Hubler
Contributor, EDM Digest
With the 2017 hurricane season under way, the Senate today voted to confirm Brock Long as the new administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The vote was 95-4.
Long is one of only a handful of nominees selected so far by President Trump to fill subcabinet posts.
What Are Long’s Qualifications to Lead FEMA?
Currently, Long is the Executive Vice President at Hagerty Consulting, an Illinois-based emergency management firm. His expertise includes strategic planning, exercise, evacuation, public safety, school safety, recovery management and response logistics.
Long previously was the director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency from 2008 to 2011. As the Director of Alabama’s EMA, he served as the State Coordinating Officer for 14 disasters, including eight events the president declared as a disaster.
He was responsible for managing Alabama’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Long also led Alabama’s responseto the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009.
Long has worked as a FEMA Regional Hurricane Planner, a FEMA Response Team Leader and a statewide school safety coordinator.
“These are good signs because the most recent FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate, was extremely effective in his role and brought a wealth of experience with him from his years as Florida’s top emergency manager,” Forbes magazine said. “All indications suggest that Brock Long is equipped for a job that requires a bipartisanship, determination, and compassion.”
Long and his family live in Hickory, North Carolina. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Appalachian State University. He is also a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School/Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
About the Author
David E. Hubler brings a variety of government, journalism and teaching experience to his position as a Quality Assurance Editor at APUS. David’s professional background includes serving as a senior editor at CIA and the Voice of America. He has also been a managing editor for several business-to-business and business-to-government publishing companies. David has taught high school English in Connecticut and at Northern Virginia Community College. He has a master’s degree for Teachers of English from the University of New Hampshire and a B.A. in English from New York University. David’s 2015 book, “The Nats and the Grays, How Baseball in the Nation’s Capital Survived WWII and Changed the Game Forever,” was recently published in paperback by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
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