This year I will celebrate 19 years at IEM. This company has given me so many opportunities to grow personally and professionally and to support jurisdictions and individuals across the country (and beyond!) that I never imagined I would have.

I started out as an editor on the team in 2006 and since then, it has been a non-stop parade of new, incredibly rewarding experiences, from deploying to New Orleans for Hurricane Gustav in 2008 to spending a year and a half in New York in support of Superstorm Sandy response to providing geospatial support for various projects from California to Puerto Rico.

I have had the privilege of working with some of the smartest, most dedicated individuals I’ve ever met. Learning from them, watching them develop their own skills, and producing amazing results for our customers along the way has been a truly gratifying experience. I can honestly say that I would not be the person I am without my experiences at IEM, and I look forward to the next 19 years.

My first experience with IEM was 21 years ago as a client. IEM was a much smaller company back then, but they were professional and impressive. FEMA selected IEM to support FEMA Region VI and the State of Louisiana, where I was Preparedness Chief, to develop the first scenario planning event, known as Hurricane Pam. We had very little time to get the project done and I was impressed with the accuracy of the scientific standards IEM used and the quality of the overall Hurricane Pam product. The people that worked for IEM made me want to be part of their team. A year later, I officially came to work for IEM and now, 20 years later, I have never regretted making the decision to join this company. 

I had been working for IEM for only three months when Hurricane Katrina hit Southeast Louisiana and Mississippi. Three days after the storm made landfall, I was activated to support FEMA as a liaison between FEMA, the State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans. I found myself at the Superdome, where FEMA was in the process of evacuating the last 10,000 people still at the Dome. I will never forget the feeling of supporting the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana, where I had dedicated the previous 14 and a half years of my career to planning for events such as Katrina. I couldn’t be prouder of our role in supporting FEMA in that final evacuation and in getting the city on the right track to recovery during those first 30 days after the storm. 

The best part of IEM is the people who work here. I have so many memories of good times with IEMers over the years, but some of my favorites are the casual meetups after a long project or a long week, all of us getting together to celebrate the accomplishments of a project or just enjoying our friendships. After 20 years at IEM, some team members have become lifelong friends. All of them will be remembered and celebrated for making IEM the company it is today.   

I look forward to watching IEM grow and prosper over the next 40 years. I think IEM has shown over the past 40 years it knows how to adjust with the times and will continue to lead the way in emergency management for the next 40 years. The people at IEM will continue to be at the forefront of the industry, thriving and growing. I am so thankful for the past 20 years at IEM and for however long I stay, I know IEM will continue to lead the way. 

The people at IEM are what make this company so special. This field of work can be high stress, but IEMers balance it with an incredible mix of hard work, intelligence, kindness, and humor. Over the years, I’ve seen so many employees—from the CEO down—wear multiple hats and pitch in at all hours of the day and night to get a proposal or project out the door. I have truly worked with the best team through the years, and having great people around has made all the difference.

When I started at IEM, the company had been in business for nearly three decades. The potential for longevity sparked my interest, since I’d been in my previous employment for 10 years. I was in search of an employer that I could dedicate another 10 or more years to, and I was excited to find that in IEM. I also found that they encompass people from different fields and cultures, and I got the impression being unique was a characteristic IEM accepted heartily. I’m proud of the way I have flourished over the past decade with IEM and our employees, partners and customers. 

What excites me most about the future of IEM is the constantly evolving landscape of emergency management and the opportunity to rise to meet those challenges. Being part of a team that is able to constantly adapt and lead in this space is both inspiring and very motivating.

I flew to Baton Rouge to meet with a few members of the IEM team, and I was immediately struck by their stories about their experiences. Their passion for the work and remarkable longevity with the company left a lasting impression on me. I returned home, genuinely hoping to get a call from Brad with a job offer. Eleven years later, I’m still in awe of the company that Madhu built and proud to be a part of it.

Working on a major state-run rebuilding program has had the greatest impact on me so far. The sheer scale of the project and the effort required to build the infrastructure that enabled the team to operate effectively were truly remarkable. While navigating challenges with various vendors was no easy task, the relationships I built throughout the process are ones I’ll value for a lifetime.

In 2011, I first learned about IEM and their work to support public outreach at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Kentucky. I noticed that through this program, IEM was helping the government make a positive impact on the communities in Richmond, Kentucky, and Pueblo, Colorado, and I was excited to contribute to my community’s awareness of the important mission to safely destroy the chemical weapons stockpile. I started as an education specialist, visiting public schools to teach about the mission to eliminate these weapons and the science involved in this complex project. Over the last 14 years, my role has changed and grown, and I appreciate the opportunity that IEM has provided me to be a part of the historic mission to destroy the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile by keeping my community informed.

In my 20 years with IEM, the company has provided me with consistent and challenging employment, while also becoming a second family to me. From a multitude of collaborative relationships, built on mutual respect and a genuine desire to see each other and the company succeed, we have created a work environment that doesn’t exist in most businesses. Although 2020 forever changed the in-office atmosphere, I’m very appreciative of my IEM family who continues to be an integral part of my growth as a person and employee.

The last 15 years have shown me, time and again, the dedication and devotion to purpose that IEMers have, and what an amazing thing we do as a company to help people. It only gets better year after year. I am so thankful to have been a part of the government program that destroyed U.S. chemical weapons and made the world a safer place. I am grateful to IEM for providing me with this amazing opportunity. 

Being with IEM made a huge difference when a friend lost her home to Hurricane Ida. One of my IEM colleagues was able to guide her in the disaster recovery process. Being a part of an organization with such skill