Rhode Island

02835

Senior Vice President and Director National Resilience, Response and Recovery Programs

GEI Concultants Inc.

International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

Nationwide

Crisis Leadership; Leading the All-of-America response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

I’ll share first-hand insights leading at the highest levels of government, from FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House during the historic 2020-21 pandemic, hurricanes, wildfires and more.

Navigating the Complexities of a Disaster.

Having served two mayors, a governor, and a president, and led response and recovery for hundreds of presidentially declared disasters, I have had first-hand knowledge as a consumer of governmental disasters services as well as the responsibility to deliver those critical services to disaster survivors. I have also had the honor to lead a diverse set of chief executive officers through the complexities and chaos of disasters. As emergency management programs across the Nation continue to mature, emergency managers are being asked to do more. From public health emergencies to natural disasters, it is imperative that your emergency management program is ready to tackle the next unknown. I can help you understand the ever-changing landscape of our field. The best solutions are built in blue skies times - let me help you get there.

Leaders are made, not born. Every leader has their inherent strengths and weaknesses.

I have led our Nation’s Finest across the globe as a United States Marine, led tens of thousands of FEMA professionals during the country greatest disasters and the Department of Homeland Security during a tenuous transition of executive power. I have used my experience to fuel the constant improvement of current leaders and development of the next group ready to step in. Your team can never be left to survive on one person's shoulders - you must build that bench strength now. The future is now, and I’ll be able to guide your leadership team to meet any challenge head on.

Visit Pete at www.femapete.com to learn more.

Poor Organizational Communications is your Achilles Heel.

No matter how good you think your operations or response may be going behind the curtain, what matters is how you communicate what you are doing in clear, concise, and believable terms at the public podium. Your investment in training and preparing for this very real possibility will set you apart from your competitors and improve your reputation with the public. Let me help you prepare for the next unknown.

Continuity is King.

Sustaining your team's ability to operate at all times without a break in capability is paramount in today's world. Having a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) or Continuity of Government (COG) plan written does not guarantee success when the time comes to use it. Your ability to operationalize those plans in a way that minimizes confusion and disorder is what makes all the difference. I have led continuity operations at the highest levels in the military during the 9-11 attacks and in the federal government executive branch during the unprecedented and historic crises of 2020-21. My experience can help you safely navigate uncertainty in what tomorrow may hold to always keep your organization ready.

Your greatest investment must be in your people.

All too often organizational and corporate investments are in technology, facilities, and equipment and not in the people that make your success possible. Having a lifetime of leading people under a diverse environments and conditions, I can show you where you can make critical “investments” to turn your workforce around to improve both human and fiscal performance.

Resilience; Moving from the buzzword to meaningful, tangible, life-saving results.

We all have heard and have probably used the resiliency buzzword in conversations with co-workers, clients, and the community. In my previous role as the FEMA Administrator, we designed programs such as Community Lifelines (a lifeline that enables the continuous operation of critical government and business functions and is essential to human health and safety or economic security) and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) to “aim” federal funding on things that matter such as critical infrastructure. Need to better understand where and how to make investments that matter? Reduce Risk? Save lives and reduce destruction to property? Need to demonstrate a tangible return on investment? I can help.

Pete joined The LiRo Group in April 2021, in the newly created position of Senior Vice President and Director, National Resilience Response and Recovery Programs. In leading LiRo’s national disaster response, Pete oversees recovery programs that help clients prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters by delivering outcome-based innovative practical solutions. He is an accomplished professional emergency manager who has led a wide variety of challenging disasters at the local, state, and federal levels during his long career. Most recently, Pete served as the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, FEMA Administrator and Deputy FEMA Administrator. During his time at FEMA, he led the agency’s response to more than 300 presidentially declared emergencies and major disasters. During 2020, he oversaw FEMA’s first-ever operational response to a nationwide pandemic while simultaneously responding to a record number of historic natural disasters.

Pete is a Certified Emergency Manager and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Rhode Island College and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in Newport, RI. He is also a graduate of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Executive Leaders Program. Prior to his experience as an emergency manager, Pete served for 26 years as an enlisted Marine and Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Pete was recently awarded the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal and the United States Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Medal for his service at FEMA.

Pete is a professional emergency manager who has led a wide variety of challenging disasters at the local, state, and federal level. Most recently he served as the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, FEMA Administrator and Deputy FEMA Administrator.

Pete understands that every disaster is unique and requires the ability of leaders to adapt to the challenge at hand at a moment’s notice. In today’s demanding environment leaders must be ready for the unthinkable.

Yes

Moderate: Full refund up until 14 days prior to event, except fees (travel and service)