In July 2024, Dillon Taylor and I published the article: The Rise of the Disaster Diplomat: A New Era for Domestic Crisis Leadership, asserting that the nation’s emergency managers possess a similar skill set and operate akin to international diplomats. In doing so, we offered that emergency managers of the 21st century should be seen as Disaster Diplomats and emerge from the shadows of public safety. Following the release of that article, I received a great piece of advice from my colleague, Todd DeVoe, urging me to watch the Netflix series The Diplomat.— He was right. While the show follows a character who plays an international diplomat navigating the high-stakes world of global politics, I couldn’t help but see parallels to our work in emergency management. It reinforced what I already knew: our profession cannot remain confined to writing plans and staffing emergency operation centers. The future is waiting for us to lead.
Emergency management must evolve. The future of our field demands that we step into a new role—one that places us at the center of decision-making, ensures we are leading our communities in capacity building, and positions us as key players in shaping national security and resilience.
As the saying goes in emergency management, “We have contractors for writing plans.” While documentation is essential, emergency managers are not merely planners; we are community and organizational leaders. We must grab a seat at the table to actively advocate for the future of our communities and ensure that resilience is built into the fabric of our institutions before disaster strikes.
The Strategic Role of Diplomacy
Kyle King defines disaster diplomacy as “the strategic use of diplomatic efforts to address disasters, including natural calamities, pandemics, and environmental crises.” It requires the cultivation of relationships, the coordination of shared strategies, and the ability to navigate complex governance structures to drive action before, during, and after a crisis.
In many ways, emergency managers already engage in acts of diplomacy. We bring agencies together, break down silos, and align stakeholders behind common goals. We leverage private sector and nongovernmental partners, enact emergency authorities, scale response operations, manage billions of post-disaster recovery dollars with strict requirements and regulations, and execute public administration under pressure. But too often, we do this from the sidelines—reacting rather than shaping the future.
The question is: why aren’t emergency managers at the forefront? Why aren’t we seen as national security professionals, integrated into the highest levels of government and positioned as key advisors on resilience and crisis mitigation?
Emergency Management Is National Security
Domestic disasters—from climate-driven catastrophes to cyber threats—are now just as destabilizing as foreign adversaries. They disrupt economies, displace communities, and erode public confidence in government. Our ability to manage them is a matter of national security.
The disparity is striking when we compare the U.S. investment in emergency management to its commitment to international diplomacy. The State Department, tasked with managing foreign relations, commands a budget exceeding $63 billion and employs nearly 77,000 personnel. Meanwhile, FEMA—the nation’s frontline agency for disaster response and resilience—operates with a mere $25.5 billion budget and fewer than 20,000 employees despite the escalating frequency and severity of disasters. Even more alarming, the current presidential administration is proposing further cuts, undermining our ability to protect lives, infrastructure, and the economy in an era of unprecedented crises.
The problem is even more pronounced at the state and local levels. Most emergency managers are underfunded, understaffed, and sometimes buried within fire or law enforcement agencies with limited authority. Many operate as offices of one, with “other duties as assigned.” How can we be expected to lead our communities through complex disasters when we are structurally set up to fail?
If we truly believe that emergency management is a critical function of national security, we must treat it as such.
Where Emergency Managers Must Lead
To step into the future, we must redefine our role. Here’s where we must lead:
1. Being in the Room Where Decisions Are Made
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- Emergency managers must be integrated into local, state, and federal executive leadership teams.
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- FEMA should be an independent agency with the Administrator having cabinet-level status and the autonomy to directly advise the President of the United States, without being a member of the cabinet.
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- Every state and major city should have an emergency manager in the governor’s or mayor’s cabinet.
2. Building Resilient Communities Before Disasters Strike
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- We cannot simply respond to disasters—we must invest in long-term mitigation and adaptation strategies.
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- Emergency managers must be the conveners of resilience, bringing together public and private sector partners to build community capacity.
3. Shaping Policy and Advocacy
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- We must push for funding and policy reforms that prioritize resilience.
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- The profession must be recognized as an essential part of national security and emergency managers must have a seat at the table when legislation is crafted.
4. Leveraging Technology and Innovation
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- Emerging threats like cyberattacks, AI-driven disinformation, and climate adaptation require a modernized approach.
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- Emergency management agencies must have the tools and training to anticipate and respond to 21st-century risks.
5. Leading the Whole-Community Approach
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- Disaster response is no longer just a government function—it requires coordination with the private sector, NGOs, and community leaders.
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- Emergency managers must be skilled at relationship-building, trust, and diplomacy at every level.
The Future Is Now—And We Cannot Take Steps Backward
Emergency management has come a long way from its founding days as civil defense, but we cannot afford to take steps backward. We must continue learning from those who came before us while embracing the evolution of our profession. The future of emergency management is not about responding to yesterday’s disasters but proactively shaping a resilient nation.
Emergency managers are not just planners. And we are not first responders. We are Disaster Diplomats.