Jim Chesnutt

Jim Chesnutt has more than 20 years of experience in emergency management public affairs leadership positions at the local, state and federal level. From 1999 to 2006 he served as FEMA Region VIII’s Deputy Public Affairs Officer. He was responsible for coordinating media relations, community relations, congressional relations and intergovernmental affairs for more than 30 major disasters. Chesnutt was one of FEMA’s initial team of four people that led public affairs and media relations following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He also served as external affairs lead for the federal rescue effort following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In 2002, Chesnutt launched an initiative along with Mark Amann, a former FEMA coworker, to draw attention to the world’s largest under-reported humanitarian emergencies. He worked as a freelance journalist and supported the work of humanitarian organizations in war zones and in humanitarian emergencies in Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Egypt, Mali, Malawi, Indonesia, and several other countries throughout the world. Chesnutt is a co-founder of Nusura, Inc. an emergency preparedness consulting firm.