State of Disaster

Welcome to State of Disaster, Season 3 . It’s been just about a year since I published my first episode, but it feels like an entire lifetime. This show has become a staple of my life and I’m as always, so grateful for everyone I’ve gotten to know through this adventure. This season is called Emergent States . For the last year, I have been recording interviews with some really smart people about...

This episode is part of my ongoing Disaster Discourse series where I interview the authors whose books are featured in the Disaster Discourse book club. All State of Disaster episodes can be found early, extended, with video and enhanced show guides at stateofdisaster.com . You can find this episode here . Donald Patterson is a retired SWAT commander, FBI National Academy graduate, and nationally...

A dive into the intersections of disability advocacy, emergency management policy, and the systemic shifts needed to protect the most vulnerable during a crisis. Take your seat at the Roundtable. Full video and show notes including links to books, research, references, and more can be found here . Aspiring Emergency Managers Online (AEMO): Empowering and supporting the next cohort of emergency man...

Partner Episode: State of Disaster is a media partner for the 2026 Disasters Expo Miami As I announced last week, I am a media partner for this year’s Disasters Expo Miami . In this episode, I interview Molly Schwerdt and Evie Poole , who are representing the incredible Disasters Expo and Resilient City marketing team. Of course, we talk about the Disasters Expo and that the Resilient City Expo is...

Hello, State of Disasterinos! This episode is a collaboration with some old friends, some new friends, our wrap up of the emergency management trends of 2025, and our thoughts about what we’ll see more of this year. This was hosted by the fantastic Kyle King and our friends at Crisis Lab . You can find the original episode post on their site, and panelist info on my Substack . Please follow all of...

Dan Stoneking is the Vice President and Founder of the Emergency Management External Affairs Association with more than 35 years of private and public external affairs and crisis communications experience. He held the position of Regional External Affairs Director at FEMA and preceding that role, he served as Director of Private Sector and Deputy and Acting Director within FEMA’s Office of Public...

Welcome to the second Emergency Management Roundtable hosted through a partnership with Aspiring Emergency Managers Online , the Emergency Management External Affairs Association , me, your Friendly Neighborhood Emergency Manager and State of Disaster show host, and Pierce College . The Emergency Management Roundtable series is an awesome way for us to bring your questions and comments to leaders...

I love calling this "The Definitive* Episode" because any conversation about AI is outdated nearly the moment it wraps recording, let alone the time it takes to edit and publish. I'm looking forward to releasing the next "definitive" AI episode, but in the meantime this interview is NOT what you may be expecting. This was recorded a few weeks ago with my friends, the good doctors,  Sarah Miller  a...

This is a very special episode, because this is the recording of the first Emergency Management Roundtable hosted through a partnership with Aspiring Emergency Managers Online , the Emergency Management External Affairs Association , and me , your Friendly Neighborhood Emergency Manager and show host. The Emergency Management Roundtable series is a fun way for us to bring your questions and commen...

Alysha Kaplan is the current president of the Washington State Emergency Management Association. She's been an emergency manager for almost 20 years, and she's also the Deputy Director of King County Emergency Management. In this episode, we start with her incredible journey through the field, her experience coordinating with FEMA to manage disasters locally, and of course, the (potential) power o...

Stephanie DeLorenzo is a seasoned emergency management professional with over 12 years of experience navigating the complexities of crisis response and resilience building. Passionate about guiding others in the field, she authored Navigating the Chaos: The Ultimate Emergency Management Career Guide , a comprehensive resource for aspiring and current EM professionals. Stephanie is also the founder...

Today's episode is incredible and as usual, has nothing to do with anything that I did. It just happens that my guest, Brenden Winder, is a fantastic emergency manager and human.  Brenden Winder is the head of emergency management at Christchurch City Council in New Zealand with two decades of experience in the sector. He's played a pivotal role in the response and recovery efforts following the 2...

On this episode that we recorded on my favorite day of the year, Star Wars Day, I'm joined by the incredible Ginny Katz . Ginny is the founder and CEO of HazAdapt , a safety app and platform transforming how communities prepare for and adapt to hazards.  Ginny is a Spitfire of research, innovation, and ethics on a mission to build a new era of emergency and safety technology that responsibly suppo...

A conversation with Brandy Mai , a practitioner of emergency management, public information, and law. Brandy Mai is a U.S. Army veteran who was born and raised in deep south Louisiana. She is also an attorney and an emergency management consultant who's worked extensively in communications and public information, helping multiple organizations and agencies navigate their crisis and disaster strate...

On April 4th, 2025, FEMA issued a press release stating that they were ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program , BRIC for short, and canceling all applications from fiscal years 2020 to 2023. If grant funds had not been distributed, they were immediately returned to either the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury. The press release also referred to BRIC as wastefu...

" The launch of the U.S. Emergency & Disaster Management Congress, is directly in response to the federal government’s abdication of its role leading national policy and guidance per its Executive Order: Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness." Arthur J. Simental is a Homeland Security and Emergency Management Professor Researcher, Consultant, and Emergency Management Histor...

When it comes to emergency and disaster management, experience is everything - or is it? In this episode, Doctors  Sarah K. Miller ,  Darcy Leutzinger , and I dive into the often-debated value of higher education in the emergency and disaster management field(s). With more colleges and universities offering “emergency management” and “homeland security” degrees, how do you know which programs are...

State of Disaster Episode 2, with Anthony S. Mangeri, MPA, CPM, CEM In my conversation with my friend Anthony, we discuss the capabilities, funding, and authorities needed to enable disasters to be managed effectively at the local level. Anthony has worn so many hats in government and emergency management, that it provided a perfect opportunity to dig into how Anthony the Town Manager could collab...

Hello and welcome to the first episode of State of Disaster. I'm your host and Friendly Neighborhood Emergency Manager, Matt Green . My goal is to bring you to the front lines and behind the scenes of the biggest news, incidents, and innovations happening within the emergency and disaster management field. I'll also be interviewing practitioners, professors, authors, researchers, and survivors. Yo...