# Presentation: 366556

## Building from the Ground Up 

***Disaster Management:  The Experience***
***of A Small Business***
- Frances Kernodle Associates (FKA)

**Notes:**
By Frances Kernodle

Creating a business has aspects that sometimes seem like a response and recovery process.  It takes hope, vision, flexibility and determination to come out on the positive side of the equation.  

When I started this firm over ten years ago, I left behind the familiar to begin the daunting endeavor of developing a firm in a predominantly-male industry.  Along with one assistant, I packed my bags and set up shop on Pennsylvania Avenue.   

## Stage 1: Laying the Foundation

- Established FKA in Washington, DC -- 1991
- Provided clients with research /report writing, marketing support, management consulting & strategic planning services
- Initially, focused on research & analysis of infrastructure and economic development, along with engineering and construction issues

**Notes:**
CLICK TO REVEAL TITLE AND FIRST BULLET. SPEAK. 
After establishing the first FKA office, a key effort became cultivating clients based on various connections through my years at Law Engineering, VPEDC, and (at that time) almost twenty year of working with the Japanese.
CLICK  TO REVEAL SECOND BULLET. SPEAK.
Due to several years working as VP of marketing in the construction and engineering field with Law, this arena was a predominant focus. CLICK ON THIRD BULLET
However, the connection between these issues and a wide variety of other topics attracted my interest.  

## Stage 2: Building the Firm

- Increased company size & expanded areas of focus
-  Discussions with clients about the relationship of engineering & construction issues to disaster management policies &  best practices led to new contracts
- Hired additional staff to increase research and analysis capability
- Relocated main operations of FKA to Alexandria, VA.
- Expanded client base to include more U.S. government agencies, as well as international organizations
- U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration
- Smithsonian Institution
- Japan’s Cabinet Office for Crisis & Emergency Management
- Japan Institute of Construction Engineering (JICE)

**Notes:**
CLICK ON FIRST AND SECOND POINTS
Economic development, public involvement, contracting, environmental issues and, of course, emergency management became areas that my clients needed to know more about.  
CLICK ON THIRD POINT
Increased topic areas meant increased work and a need to hire additional employees.
As we moved into the 1990s, a website was a necessity and we developed ours to incorporate Japanese as well as English.  

CLICK ON FOURTH POINT
I worked to cultivate even greater interest in new topic areas among old clients, new clients and potential clients in meetings, at conferences, and events were opportunities to discuss ways in which clients could benefit from information related to various topic areas ...but emergency management in particular inherently necessitates information sharing to understand successes and failures --  gain from the best cases and mitigating the challenges.  

## Stage 3: Attention to Detail

- Monitoring trends and presenting new perspectives increased our opportunities in emergency management  leading to new assignments in new areas, including public awareness & outreach
- 	Representative Reports:
*The Transformation of FEMA since 1992 *
*Case Study of the Texas Floods of 1998*
*River Flood Preparedness & Mitigation*
*Case Study of Hurricane Floyd*
*Flood Disaster Relief Efforts -- Volunteer Groups/NGOs*
*Emergency Management Preparedness & Training Exercises*

**Notes:**

Prior to 9-11, hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes and volcanoes had been areas that clients had requests for information including case studies, legislation, incident command procedures and the like as it related to natural disasters. 

Client interest on natural disasters led FKA to set up numerous meetings with key U.S. officials on the federal, regional, state and local levels on various topics.  

##  Stage 3: Attention to Detail (continued)

- Representative International Research  Delegations Coordinated by FKA:
- Japanese government fact-finding mission on flood-related disaster management policies and practices – DC, North Carolina, Texas
- Japanese local government research mission to Mt. Saint Helens & Mt. Kilauea following Hokkaido volcano – meetings with USGS and state & local emergency management agencies in Washington State & Hawaii
- Staff participation in Red Cross disaster management training led to “hands on” experience in volunteer activities following 9-11-04 & Hurricane Isabel

## Stage 4: Adaptation and Evolution

- Research results and demonstrated expertise stimulated interest in additional research, more international missions and new opportunities
- 	Additional Representative Research Reports:
*Economic Impacts of Terrorist Events in the United States*
*Impact of Terrorist Events of 9-11-01 on the Engineering & Construction Industry *
*Terrorist Attacks in the United States: An Overview of Response & Recovery Activities*
- 	Representative Project:
- “Transit Watch”  -- nationwide safety/ security awareness & outreach  campaign for the Dept. of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration  (FTA) – FKA conducted the research & surveying component of the initiative

**Notes:**
The demand for information about emergency management practices increased significantly even prior to 9-11.  However, 9-11 changed the thrust of many of our projects.

## Building from the Ground Up

- “...as an independent research, communications and strategic planning organization and by partnering with the public sector, NGOs & other private sector organizations, we play an active role in emergency management in the U.S., as well as in other countries.”  Please contact us:
- Fran Kernodle, President
- FKA
- 113 N. Alfred Street
- Alexandria, Virginia 22314
- 703-519-3950
- _[www.fkassociates.com](http://www.fkassociates.com/)__       fkernodle@fkassociates.com_