1985 to 1999 | 2000 to 2009 | 2010 to 2019 | 2020 to 2025
1985 – 1999
In February of 1985, Madhu Beriwal founded IEM International, Inc., also known by its acronym of IEM, in Baton Rouge, LA, with the mission to integrate science and technology into emergency management.
IEM developed hurricane evacuation time estimates for the New Orleans area to anticipate tropical storms on the coast. The evacuation modeling showed that delaying mandatory evacuation order would cause catastrophic traffic congestion before a major storm. IEM’s model initiated a prompt evacuation of the area and saved countless lives.
IEM’s first international project took place in Russia. IEM partnered with Bechtel to develop a comprehensive chemical weapons destruction plan as part of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. IEM drafted an Initial Concept Plan for Emergency Preparedness, demonstrating the company’s ability to perform superior studies and analysis at a comprehensive, nationwide level. IEM’s plan was the only deliverable on a multi-task contract that the Government of Russia did not return for a rewrite.
IEM begins developing specialized modeling and simulation tools for clients to evaluate emergency management solutions and to assess whether systems in place can meet the client’s requirements and needs. QEM is an award-winning simulation software developed by IEM to analyze preparedness. The software can run thousands of scenarios to model the behavior of a specific hazard to analyze the emergency response in place and its impact on social behavior. The software is used to analyze the behavior of a hazard, the emergency response systems in place, and the population’s social behavior to a given response.
2000 – 2009
IEM began to provide program integration and communications support services to FEMA and the U.S. Army for CSEPP and its sites.
Following the Anthrax attaches of 2001, IEM built a biological attack and disease models for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IEM’s modeling led to the Executive Order on biological signed by the President in 2009.
Awards
- DCI Portal Excellence Award Finalist
- Baton Rouge Technology Company of the Year
In 2002, the U.S. Army’s Chemical Materials Activity (CMA) tasked IEM with developing WebPuff, a browser-based emergency management information system that protects and alerts the public in the event of a chemical release emergency. WebPuff monitors the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile storage and disposal facilities, and allows officials to quickly model and analyze a chemical release within minutes to provide public alert and warning. The system is designed to process complex data quickly and output data fast enough to support emergency response teams as well as civilian protective measures.
Louisiana’s Office of Electronic Services (now the Office of Technology Services) contracted with IEM to design, develop, and implement Louisiana.gov. The website was designed for future scalability and was launched on time and within budget.
Awards
- Louisiana Economic Development Lantern Award
- Governor’s Technology Award-Technology Leader of the Year
- Capital Area United Way Campaign Award
IEM begins the FEMA Catastrophic Planning Project for Southeast Louisiana culminating in the “Hurricane Pam” exercise that enabled emergency planners and responders to develop many of the concepts and approaches that would prove indispensable in the response to Hurricane Katrina. The approach developed by IEM for SE Louisiana was embraced across the country as the standard for national catastrophic planning.
Awards
IEM’s Program Manager for CSEPP (Jack Long) received the first DHS Emergency Preparedness and Response Under Secretary’s Award for Superior Service awarded to a contractor.
IEM conducted data gathering for FEMA’s Nationwide Plan Review for half of the United States. FEMA selected IEM to carry out a Nationwide Review of catastrophic planning for 50 states and 75 major cities. IEM held onsite visits to all states and 15 major jurisdictions east of the Mississippi River to identify best practices, areas of improvement required, and Federal technical assistance needs, especially in the area of catastrophic planning. Overall, the reviews encompassed 260 trips to the jurisdictions in just three months, including as many as 28 personnel conducting up to six reviews simultaneously.
Awards
- DiversityBusiness.com Top Small Businesses in U.S
- Baton Rouge Business Report Top Woman-Owned Companies
- American Red Cross Circle of Humanitarians Award
After catastrophic flooding in Iowa, IEM supported the State in completing expedited disaster recovery efforts, helping to minimize state financial vulnerability. The team submitted over 7,000 projects, totaling more than $300 million in public assistance. IEM was later recognized with the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) Distinguished Enterprise System Award.
After severe storms and flooding ravaged Georgia in summer 2009, IEM successfully deployed emergency management and PA recovery experts to assist the State emergency management team within 24 hours. The IEM team assisted with response efforts, EOC support, damage assessment, PA project formulation, anddeveloping the State’s recovery strategy. IEM was recognized with a DiversityBusiness.com Top U.S. Asian American Owned Businesses award.
2010 – 2019
IEM Air specializes in supporting safe aviation operations during contingencies, disasters, and major events. In 2010, IEM started work on the Airport Cooperative Research Program which supports airport-to-airport mutual aid programs. Through this research program, IEM Air is currently developing a guidebook for airport staff to evaluate and implement web-based collaboration tools that offer a common picture for both day-to-day operations and full emergency response management.
Following Hurricane Sandy, IEM provided PA and HMGP recovery support to New York State. IEM took over program management services for HUD-funded CDBG-DR housing recovery programs.
Global security consulting firm IEM, headquartered in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, was selected as a prime contractor to provide information technology support to the Department of Homeland Security through the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions II contract.
After Hurricanes Sandy and Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, IEM took over program management services for housing recovery programs funded by HUD’s CDBG-DR for New York State. The program received 6,000 new applicants 6 weeks after IEM started took over management. Two years after starting this project IEM had distributed 902 million dollars to over 11 thousand homeowners- seven times more money than New York City’s programs.
The 2017 Hurricane season was a devastating one. In 2018, IEM began assisting the States of Texas and Florida with their CDBG-DR programs. IEM’s services included outreach, housing recovery implementation, housing reimbursements, as well as grants and case management.
IEM Vice President Bryan Koon joins Rebuild 850 to help drive Florida Panhandle recovery.
Three months to the day after Hurricane Michael devastated northwest Florida, Rebuild 850 held a media conference call about the volunteer group’s efforts to galvanize the recovery effort. Rebuild 850’s leadership, former Florida House speakers Allan Bense and Will Weatherford, used the occasion to announce a new member of the team. Bryan Koon was named Director of Damage Assessment for the group.
IEM Donated air stairs to Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport to replace jet bridges damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018.
Awards
- IEM was named a “Best Place to Work” in Baton Rouge for a fifth consecutive year.
2020 – 2025
- Within days of the national public health emergency being declared, IEM launched COVID-19 Projections. We created a public dashboard utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to conduct disease modeling to best predict the likelihood of new COVID-19 cases.
- IEM Health was launched, expanding our capabilities in public health preparedness and response.
- IEM’s COVID-19 predictive model was added to the U.S. Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) national COVID-19 forecast ensemble.
IEM PUERTO RICO
IEM joins Quanta and ATCO on the LUMA Energy Consortium. IEM supports as the federal fiscal fund manager and assists with emergency management efforts to rehabilitate Puerto Rico’s electric transmission and distribution system.
AWARDS
- IEM’s COVID-19 Modeling received the Washington Technology 2020 Industry Innovator Award.
- Time Magazine recognized our lead COVID-19 modeler for his past work that influenced international pandemic efforts.
- IEM was named “Best Place to Work” in Baton Rouge for sixth Consecutive Year.
- IEM named one of the “Best Employers” in North Carolina.
- IEM’s Strategic Communications Solutions Team wins Gold in the International Competition for Creative Professionals.
- IEM receives the FEPA 2020 Corporate Award.
- IEM Health was created in January 2021
- Multiple teams across IEM supported mass vaccination programs in 20 states, through direct state assistance, including Florida, Texas, and Virginia, and an overarching FEMA contract.
- IEM Health reached 1.7 million vaccinations and managed over 4,500 medical staff across six states during concurrent operations.
- IEM Health, as part of a joint venture, operate alternative care sites providing monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19 patients at 29 sites across five states, including Louisiana and Texas.
- IEM Health set up two Alternate Care Sites (field hospitals) in Texas, treating over 110 patients.
- IEM Health administered over 200,000 COVID-19 tests across four states.
- IEM began supporting the U.S. Treasury-funded Home Assistance Fund (HAF) programs in Virginia and North Carolina.
IEM PUERTO RICO
IEM began supporting the U.S. Treasury-funded Home Assistance Fund (HAF) programs in Puerto Rico.
AWARDS
- IEM earns the Appian 2021 Innovation Award.
- IEM named “Best Place to Work” in Baton Rouge.
- Founder and Chairwoman Madhu was appointed to the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC).
- IEM Supporteds Response to Hurricane Ian, a devastating Category 4 storm that caused catastrophic damage across Florida, bringing deadly storm surge, widespread flooding, and billions in destruction.
- IEM provided a Human Needs Assessment Team to recovery shelters after Hurricane Ian to coordinate shelters and stable housing.
- IEM developed interactive dashboards to track the progress of recovery programs along with IA (individual assistance) reports analyzing the amount of funds distributed to disaster survivors during our Hurricane Ian response.
AWARDS
- IEM is recognized as a “Best Employer” in North Carolina.
- IEM is recognized as a “Best Place to Work” in Baton Rouge.
- President and CEO Bryan Koon receives the NIBS Distinguished Service Award.
- Over 80 IEM leaders met in San Juan, Puerto Rico for IEM’s 2023 Leadership Summit. We were honored with the Governor and other Puerto Rican emergency management, energy, and housing leaders addressing the senior management group.
- IEM supported the destruction of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile for over 30 years, reaching significant milestones along the way including in 2023.
- The Department of Defense announced on July 7, 2023, the final munition in the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile was safely destroyed at the Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, marking the completion of destruction of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile.
- For 30 years, IEM provided technical and programmatic support to make communities surrounding the stockpile sites safer.
- IEM supported the unique response to the fires that destroyed the historical Tustin hangar, one of the two massive World War II-era blimp hangars in Tustin, California. These hangars, among the largest free-standing wooden structures in the world, stood for over 80 years. The fires raised environmental and safety concerns due to the materials involved in the blaze. IEM swiftly deployed to serve as the Incident Management Team (IMT) to support the City’s recovery, leading project management, contract and vendor oversight, and real-time tracking to ensure efficient remediation, financial recovery, and community resilience.
- IEM supported the recovery of Louisianans after the devastation of flooding related to Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Ida and the May 2021 Severe Storm, and these efforts were completed in October 2023.
- Our team set a new standard in environmental review processes for CDBG-DR programs resulting in the largest volume of environmental reviews conducted over the shortest increment of time (39,000 in 10 months).
- In November 2023, IEM began support of the City of Tustin in response to the Navy Hangar Fire Recovery. Our personnel were deployed within 24 hours and currently serve as the Incident Management Team (IMT), which includes providing services such as project management, vendor oversight, operational oversight, debris request review, remediation oversight, residential inspections, financial recovery, and contract administration technical support.
IEM PUERTO RICO
- IEM was selected to continue our support to Puerto Rico’s Public Partnership Authority (P3) with Hazard Mitigation Program.
- IEM selected as a program manager for the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) federally-funded $5 billion Housing Programs provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and Mitigation (CDBG-MIT).
- After launching Puerto Rico’s HAF program in December 2021, IEM supported their Housing Finance Agency in closing out the Puerto Rico’s Housing Assistance Program (PRHAP) in May 2023.
- Originally designed to assist 5,000 homeowners across Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities, with IEM’s support PRHAP exceeded expectations, helping more than 8,000 homeowners and closing ahead of schedule.
- The Department of Treasury release a report indicating PRHAP was the first among all HAF programs to successfully disburse 100% of available funds.
- Leaders met in Puerto Rico in May 2023 to collaborate on future projects and building community resiliency.
Philanthropic
- IEM donated $15,000 to humanitarian nonprofit organizations World Central Kitchen and Save the Children for ongoing recovery efforts after Turkey and Syria Earthquakes.
- IEM Health donated $90,000 in medical supplies to Texas Children’s Hospital.
- IEM donated $5,000 to Junior League of Tallahassee.
Awards
- IEM appraised at CMMI Level 3.
- IEM named a “Best Company” for remote workers.
- IEM named “Best Place to Work” in Baton Rouge for the 9th nineth9th Consecutive Year.
- IEM recognized as an Inclusive Workplace.
- IEM achieves ISO 9001 Certification.
- Bryan Koon takes the reins as CEO and President.
- Over 90 IEM leaders met in Orlando, Florida for the company’s 2024 Leadership Summit.
- Leaders heard from Executive Director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), Kevin Guthrie, regarding the future of emergency management and the State’s support impacted communities.
- Local emergency manager, Manny Soto, spoke to the group about the importance of collaboration during emergency response and lessons learned from recent events.
- Madhu Beriwal appointed to Bipartisan Policy Center Board of Directors.
- IEM selected to support multiple State Energy Offices with planning, designing, and implementing Rebate Programs with inclusive solutions that engage local experts and the workforce to promote economic development.
- After launching the North Carolina Housing Assistance Fund (NCHAF) in 2021, IEM supported their Housing Finance Agency in closing out the NCHAF in September 2024.
- The Program exceeded $100M awarded in the first year of program implementation and ultimately closed out 25,667 files.
- The Virginia Mortgage Assistance Program (VMRP) was launched in 2021, and IEM supported their Housing Finance Agency in closing out the VMRP in October 2024.
- The Program closed out 16,673 files and ultimately disbursed $235,968,290.88 to eligible homeowners.
- IEM closed out the ReBuild Florida program, which was launched in response to Hurricane Irma, with 8,026 eligibility reviews conducted and 3,725 homes completed for Florida residents in the recovery efforts.
- In late September 2024, IEM responded to the areas impacted by Tropical Cyclone Debby and Hurricanes Milton and Helene, including areas in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
- 200 IEMers were deployed across the Southeast in support of response efforts, including air operations, disaster sheltering, logistics, and human needs assessment and support among others.
- IEM provided guidance on documentation needed to obtain FEMA reimbursements, as well as providing expert policy assistance to shape amendments to FEMA which helped plan for the implementation of federal and statee disaster shelter and housing programs.
IEM Puerto Rico
- IEM was selected to support the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority (PRHFA) with grant management and oversight of the HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) Program.
Philanthropic
- IEM donated $10,000 to the 2024 Southwest Virginia Disaster Relief Fund administered by the United Way of Southwest Virginia to support Hurricane Helene efforts.
- IEM donated $100,000 to support hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina and Florida.
- IEM donated $50,000 to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund.
- IEM donated $50,000 to the Florida Disaster Fund.
Awards
- Madhu Beriwal named WashingtonExec Private Company “DHS Executive of the Year”. IEM recognized as the National Emergency Management Association’s (NEMA) longest-standing private sector partner during the Mid-Year Forum.
- IEM recognized as “Best Place to Work” in Baton Rouge for the tenth consecutive year and “Best & Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation” for the second consecutive year.
- Bryan Koon honored with The News Service of Florida “Impact Award”.
- Madhu Beriwal honored with The News Service of Florida “Above & Beyond” Award, celebrating 50 inspiring and influential women in Florida.
- IEM Turned 40 on February 7, 2025!
- Madhu Beriwal founded the company on resiliency and dedication, building a legacy of impactful and innovative emergency management and disaster recovery strategies.
- Returning to our roots, IEM leaders met in Baton Rouge for the 2025 Leadership Summit. Together, they worked on the next decade’s planning for IEM’s future while paying homage to the amazing work done throughout the past four decades.
- Continuing our support of recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene, TSA Outreach Team members began working in January 2025 with State, FEMA, and County representatives to assist survivors in moving from hotels to longer-term housing solutions and to access additional resources on their recovery journey.