A GUIDING HAND No. 4
EmilyJane McLouglin Zahreddine ’05
The best way to respond to an emergency is to prepare for one. As an emergency manager, EmilyJane McLoughlin Zahreddine ’05 knows that better than most. She has spent her career on both sides of the equation, helping governments and organizations plan for the unthinkable and guiding communities through times of crisis. Emergency managers are an essential link in disaster and emergency response, handling many of the services beyond those provided by fire, police, or medical personnel. Many people in the role don’t consider themselves first responders, EmilyJane says. Rather, their job is to collaborate with different stakeholders to share resources and information, such as engaging with social services to ensure that residents have a place to stay after an apartment fire. “We are not in the field, but we are very much behind the scenes managing the incident,” she says. It can be a high-stakes position. EmilyJane explains, “Being an emergency manager is being expected to make informed decisions with perspective and foresight and deep consideration with about two minutes’ worth of incomplete data.” EmilyJane’s interest in emergency management began on September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks occurred just two weeks into her freshman year at Santa Catalina, and she recalls sitting in Study Hall as history teacher Mr. Broeck Oder explained what was happening and offered assurances that everything would be OK. “That just set into motion for me this desire to help people who were experiencing the worst thing that could happen to them,” says EmilyJane, who was a boarding student from Berkeley, California. After graduating from Catalina, EmilyJane earned a B.A. in public policy studies and political science from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Her first job was with the USO, the military support nonprofit, where she was tasked with writing an emergency operations plan so the organization would still be able to provide services
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to troops if disaster struck. “This was in 2009, an especially sensitive time for our military, so it was really important for me to do a good job, and I kind of fell in love with the work,” she says. Next, EmilyJane took a job on Capitol Hill, where she worked with the Sergeant at Arms for the House of Representatives to train members of Congress on how to evacuate safely and shelter in place if needed. She later served as an analyst in other governmental offices responsible for planning and preparing for emergencies, including the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications and FEMA’s Office of National Continuity Programs. Along the way, she earned a master of public administration degree in emergency management from George Mason University.
