Mark Peterson - Host:

I am Mark Peterson, and this is "Before, During, and After: A Podcast from FEMA."

Mark Peterson - Host:

Strengthening the emergency management workforce at the state, local, tribal, territorial, and national levels is crucial to building and maintaining a strong profession and keeping the public safe. This is such an important task that FEMA's administrator, Deanne Criswell, included strengthening the emergency management workforce in FEMA's latest strategic plan. One of the many training programs that FEMA supports is the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. This unique program is open to all state, local, tribal, and territorial employees with a nexus to homeland security and emergency management. So, on today's episode, host Troy Christensen, speaks with Heather Issvoran about the center and the different training programs that are offered.

Troy Christensen:

I'm here with Heather Issvoran from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security in beautiful Monterey, California. We are here to talk a little bit about a very unique program, I think, in the emergency management and homeland security space. It's a program that I love as your host here, because I'm also a student in one of the programs here in Monterey. So first of all, Heather, welcome to the podcast.

Heather Issvoran:

Troy, it's so great to be with you. Thank you for the invitation.

Troy Christensen:

Absolutely. So, tell everybody a little bit about the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, a little bit about your mission, and maybe your history as well.

Heather Issvoran:

Sure. So, after 9/11, there were a few very forward-thinking folks here at the Naval Postgraduate School who realized that, very quickly, we didn't have an internal and domestic way to prevent and deter terrorism. And so, they decided that they would develop a master’s program. And since the Naval Postgraduate School was already doing things like intelligence and critical infrastructure protection courses for the international audience and for the military, it was their dream to make it more domestic and focus and develop that master’s program. And so, we actually started in a very unique relationship with the Department of Justice in the Naval Postgraduate School to develop this program for local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal DHS folks. In the beginning we didn't have federal as much, but then we, years later, went over to FEMA. So, that's where we've been for, for over a decade now. But again, the mission was to develop a cadre of critical thinkers in strategy and policy for homeland security. And at the time, cops didn't talk to firefighters, didn't talk to emergency managers or public health especially. So, this program was designed to get as many different disciplines together to help them think critically about homeland security, and they didn't even know what that was at the time. And so it was really developed over these last 20 years.

Troy Christensen:

That's one of the great things that I appreciate about the program here is because I'm an emergency manager, but also you know, you have, you have a mayor of a city, you have firefighters, police officers, county emergency managers, people from all walks of life and, and really all, all kinds of different communities across the country. And, and there are different programs as well. There's a lot of different programs that are offered here by the center. Can you tell me a little bit about some of the options that may be open to, to some of these public sector folks in, in various parts of the country?

Heather Issvoran:

Right. So, for every stage of the career, we have a program, beginning with emergence - those in the first half of their career who are interested in learning about how to navigate bureaucracy as it is. And so, they compete to get into this six-month program on an idea of change, and we call that a change initiative, but in the application process, they're explaining this idea and what they would do if they were in charge for a day. Looking at it from their perspective as just coming into these agencies, what is it that needs to change? And, and generationally we find that the ideas that come from those particular students are just incredibly helpful to agencies that have been doing the same thing for, as you know, for so long. So, that six-month program emergence has two deadlines. It's May 1 and December 1. They, those dates never change, and you can find the application on our website, Chds.us.

Troy Christensen:

Great. And so, you mentioned that program, Executive Leaders Program is another one.

Heather Issvoran:

Exactly. Yeah. So, for those in the mid-to-senior levels of their, their agencies, the Executive Leaders Program is geared to the, the person who, you know, across the country, we find that the baby boomers are retiring. And so, the senior leadership of some agencies, you know, people are being pulled into positions of leadership, they don't have the actual experience that their predecessors had. So, ELP is a great way to have folks who are in those positions and the senior leaders together in the classroom to learn from one another. And that is a 12-month program, and it is, the deadlines are January 15th and June 15th. And what it is, is a facilitated conversation with agencies from around the country. We deal with over 2,000 here at CHDS. And so, you'll find directors, deputy directors, chiefs, deputy chiefs, but you'll also find those folks who are in positions that need this, this program to do their job effectively as new leaders.

Troy Christensen:

Yeah. And a lot of it is, you know, you, you learn on the job, but also, you learn here, and a lot of people get thrust into leadership positions that they may, may not have expected in the past. So, I think that that's so crucial as, as one of the the ways to grow emergency managers, but also first responders and, and the entire profession. So, Heather, tell me a little bit about the, the master’s degree program, and I can fill in a few of the blanks since I'm, I'm part of it. But how is that different from these other programs that you mentioned?

Heather Issvoran:

Well, it's our real flagship program, and a lot of the curriculum is developed with you, the student in mind, so that you learn more from one another that you learn from our faculty, which is on purpose, right? So, we develop the classroom with students that can learn best from one another. This is a 12 month, or sorry, an 18 month program that has two in-residences every quarter. So, for a total of 12 weeks during that 18 months, you are here in Monterey or in our Potomac, Maryland classroom, and you're taking two courses at a time and writing a thesis. And it's, it is a very serious program. It is very tough. I always like to say that if you like pain, this is a, this is a tremendously great program for you. And everybody that gets in is very passionate about what they do.

Heather Issvoran:

They really wanna make a difference in Homeland Security at the strategy, policy level. Even if they don't know it yet, you know, you just, they, they compete. It's very hard to get in. We get about 200 applicants for 32 spots, and the goal is to articulate the criticality of your position to Homeland Security. We have a very broad definition of what that is. And so, we invite people to talk about what keeps them up at night. What are the, the, the topics and the, the issues that are of concern to you and your agency, whether it's Chicago, DC, New Mexico, Florida, every area of the United States has very unique threats and challenges.

Troy Christensen:

Yeah. You mentioned pain a little bit. It's, it's, it's a, it's pain in a good way because you're know, you're learning a lot you're learning a lot from other people, which I think as you mentioned, and that's, that's key. But also at the same time this still is a very rigorous academic program. So, you know, when, when folks are interested in the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, you know, and they're wondering if they have what it, what it takes to be a good fit here, what do you usually tell them?

Heather Issvoran:

I usually say, you have to be interesting. So, thinking about how you think is, is a large part of the application process, and it's a large part of what you're experiencing in your program, is how to think about things differently. So, if you're naturally curious, if you are somebody who is looking for that next step in your career, this is a good fit. All that is required in terms of prerequisites is that you have a 3.0 GPA, and even if you didn't you can take the GRE or the Miller's analogy test and then have a full-time government job. So, any local, state, tribal territorial or federal DHS person is welcome to apply and be sponsored. So when I say that, that means travel tuition, lodging, per diem, books, computer, everything is provided. And that is a very important part of this, because we want everybody to be equal in the classroom.

Troy Christensen:

Yeah, that's, that's one of the great things about you know, it's, it's a such a big candidate pool. We have, you know, people that work in public works and all different varieties of, of folks that are in the public sector, as I mentioned earlier. So that's, that's really one of the, one of the benefits. For some of our listeners, they're busy professionals in the emergency management space. They may not have the time or not be a part of their you know, where they are in their lives where they can do a program like this. But you guys have a lot of different options available for somebody that's looking for training or looking just to learn more.

Heather Issvoran:

Yeah. Well, let me just say this about the master's program we have, it's never gonna be a good time because it's a lot of work, as you know, and I it's a lot of writing, a lot of reading, but it's also a lot of taking in information. And so, we've had folks from every walk of life - women who, you know, are, they have toddlers, they're pregnant, you know, there's a, there's a lot of time demands on young kids and families, but they make it work. So I, I don't wanna dissuade your audience from applying because we, we absolutely do everything we can to help. We have a logistics team that takes care of all your travel and lodging. We have a lot of help for writing because a lot of folks weren't paying attention when they were in school and when they were, you know, the, it's just a lot of writing. So, we have coaches and we have faculty that will meet with them knowing emergency managers are, you know, have weird hours. They'll meet with them anytime of day or night. So, a lot of that facilitation. So, if you're not really into our programs, though, we have resources. And one of the best, and I'm gonna ask you a question now, is the digital library. How do you use it?

Troy Christensen:

I, I think, I mean, the digital library is, I think for a lot of emergency managers, it's, it's kind of hard to, you know, know where to get information, where to get vetted information, where to get good information. And, you know, when you, when you think about the emergency management space, there are really not a lot of institutions that collect that kind of information. So I, I think it's, it's, it's one of those resources that, you know, a lot of local emergency managers probably say, you know, I'm thinking about this particular topic. You know, people have done research on this. You know, the, we really don't want somebody at, in the local or state level to think they're in a silo where there are a lot of people that have been thinking about this potentially for, for quite some time. And that's one of the great things about, you know, about the directory because you can see a lot of the research that's been going on here and just in the, in the community in general, I think.

Heather Issvoran:

Yeah. And you know, when the boss looks at you and says, "Hey, I wanna know more about swarming drones" or, you know, whatever it is that you're dealing with in the headlines of, of the day, going to our Homeland Security digital library is a way that you can just do a quick search. And what you get is all the, like you said, the vetted information. So, in the age of misinformation and disinformation, having a trusted source of information, no matter what the topic is, you get executive orders, presidential directives, you get all the original research conducted here at CHDS and the larger NPS. So I will say that while we only do strategy and policy, there's a lot more technical research conducted at NPS that will help emergencies managers do their jobs better - climate change, and all the aspects of critical infrastructure protection that emergency managers have to deal with. You can find that information in our digital library.

Troy Christensen:

That's great. And, and in addition to the library, there's also online training that people can take at their own pace. There's some very interesting training that, you know, may not be available on the FEMA website. For example, things like climate topics and other types of things. Tell me a little bit about, about that program and and how that could benefit somebody who's just looking to learn maybe just a little bit more on a certain topic.

Heather Issvoran:

Yeah, so if you don't have time or availability to do one of our in-residence courses, our online courses are something to consider. Some topics like meta-leadership and climate change and intelligence, lots of different topics of interest, and they're all located on the website, and you can just pick and choose. You can do it in your own time. You get a, a nifty certificate of completion at the end, but you also get a strategy policy lesson that's short. It's, it's compact and it's meaningful and relevant to your everyday job.

Troy Christensen:

So, at the end of all of this training, what are the benefits that students take home to their agencies, take home to their communities? For some people it may be kind of taxing to go to Monterey for a couple of weeks at a time. But you know, what is the, what is the payoff that the communities can, can enjoy from this?

Heather Issvoran:

Well, let's take you for example. So you live in Chicago. You work in Chicago, and you're working with a lot of our alumni. And I would say that the, the what you get out of it is a network that's incredibly powerful. So, the folks that are Tom Sivak, Alicia Tate-Nadeau, and Ted Berger, those are our graduates and they're all collaborating - Beth Windish, in that particular area. But, say you need an FBI question answered, you can go into our directory and find somebody who understands. And there's an instant trust from being an alum of our programs, and you can get your questions answered without all that red tape. In addition to that, you are a better critical thinker, so no matter what you're dealing with, 'cause there's always gonna be some calamity coming or here, you're able to think through those processes, you're able to think how other agencies deal - public health, how to bring them in, when to bring them in. And I mean, you, maybe you could tell us a little bit of how that might've worked in your classroom already, but that's a big deal.

Troy Christensen:

Yeah, yeah. It, it, it is. I mean, I think everybody brings a unique perspective into the program and I think they bring a unique perspective out, out of the program too, back to their communities. You know, being evangelists for training to bettering the profession of emergency management and fire and police and all of the different professions that we have represented here at CHGS, I think that's one of the real big benefits. So, if we peaked anybody's interest here, if there's anybody that is listening to the podcast says, "Hey, I wanna learn more", where, where should they start? Where would you direct them first?

Heather Issvoran:

Well, our website is a fantastic resource. There are many more resources in terms of opportunities to learn about strategy and policy. So, going to CHDS.us, you'll be able to find our programs, all the applications. If you're DHS, then you can find your internal point of contact, 'cause there is, there are two different processes. So, you'll find that person's name there and you can work on your application as you'd like. We don't even look at it until you finish it and finalize it. So, if, and many people do, they spend maybe five years looking at the program and then they apply. So, we look at short term and long-term applicants and, and that's just fine. So, we invite everybody to just take a look, engage with us, and my number and email to answer any other questions you might have is on the website as are the leads for all the programs.

New Speaker:

I just think this is a unique opportunity in the time we're living to network with other professionals who are passionate about securing our nation. And I think, if you have the, the interest, everything else can take care of itself 'cause nobody's gonna have the time at this level to really do the program, but they make the time. So, I would just encourage everybody who has a slight interest to visit the website, give me a call and I'll be happy to answer all the questions.

Mark Peterson - Host:

Thanks for listening to this episode of "Before, During, and After: A Podcast from FEMA." If you'd like to learn more about this episode or other topics or have ideas for future episodes, visit us at fema.gov/podcast.