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I consider this conversation to be a great companion episode to the previous one about disaster complexity and complex adaptive systems. Fitting the theme of emergent states, this conversation with Space Force Systems Engineer, Carl “C.J.” Unis, is about how emergency managers can (and should) consider the cascading impacts from unique disaster interactions way before the incident begins to scale. Carl “C.J.” Unis is a systems engineer with the United States Space Force. He leverages his operations expertise in DOD, enterprise security, homeland security, and national security experiences to support mission critical objectives. His role emphasizes technical systems analysis, systems engineering, integration, and mission assurance to advance national security objectives. His professional journey includes roles in logistics, special operations, incident response, embassy security, critical infrastructure protection and analysis, systems analysis, supply chain resilience, and systems engineering. He delivers innovative and secure solutions, collaborating across governmental, private, and public sectors, ensuring operational effectiveness and execution. He brings a structured approach to complex systems challenges and a dedication to safeguarding vital assets. He is an internationally recognized expert in his field, and is regularly sought out for his insight, knowledge, and expertise. C.J.’s Work & Other MediaSystems Thinking: Skills and Insights to Resolve Wicked Problems Crisis Lab Course: Systems Thinking in Emergency Management *More will be sent to premium subscribers in the follow-up study guide Did you know that I’ll be emceeing and streaming the first Disaster Gaming Convention? And that general admission is FREE?? Disaster GamingCon is where emergency management, military & defense, and gaming innovation collide creating a one‑of‑a‑kind experience you won’t find anywhere else. This year’s convention brings together the best in: Disaster Gaming immersive learning through play. Serious Games & advanced exercise design. Modeling & Simulation. Defense Tech, AI, and cutting‑edge tools shaping the future. Plus: Next Generation Leaders Track, Practitioner & Academic Workshops, Industry Innovators Showcase, Live tech demos and panels. And the best part? The entire event will be livestreamed right here at stateofdisaster.com! Whether you’re an EM professional, a defense strategist, a simulation nerd, or a gamer who loves pushing boundaries, this is your con.

After working six World Cup games, traveling for three weddings, and adopting one dog, I’m back in my studio and editing so much content for all of you. Here’s part one of a currently two-part series with Gregory Vigneaux with to come, I’m sure. Premium subscribers on Substack have already had access to the majority of this episode, plus a lot of show notes with references, links, and other resources from this very philosophy heavy series, which is really at the heart of Emergent States. I’m compiling this all into an emergency management complexity resource guide that I’ll be sending to premium folks soon. I also lowered the price for premium and I’m probably going to hold that price moving forward. I am so excited to bring you something old, and something new. The research and concepts of organizational theory, chaos, and complexity are not new to academia, but I believe they may be the disruption emergency management needs (opposed to the one it has). This Emergent States series doesn’t take anything for granted, including our most basic doctrine. My guest, Gregory Vigneaux, is a former federal wildland firefighter who worked primarily on Hotshot Crews. He has fought fires in twelve states, from coast to coast, including Alaska, with the majority of his time spent in California. Through this experience, Gregory gained an enduring interest in operations and their environment. During his graduate studies, he was introduced to the interdisciplinary study of complex systems that would begin to offer unexpected insight into his areas of interest and much more. He has been studying complex systems for eleven years, still finding new questions and answers, which he is always excited to share. You can find his work here, and also connect with him on LinkedIn. TLDR: I’m back from my brief summer hiatus that I now need an actual vacation from. I’m back doing what I love, which is managing emergencies and running my mouth. Enjoy this episode of State of Disaster - Emergent States.

Welcome to State of Disaster, Season 3. It’s been just about a year since I published my first episode, but it feels like an entire lifetime. This show has become a staple of my life and I’m as always, so grateful for everyone I’ve gotten to know through this adventure. This season is called Emergent States. For the last year, I have been recording interviews with some really smart people about what happens when big systems fail and what emerges when individuals, organizations, and communities self organize to solve the seemingly unsolvable. We’re going to talk about complexity science, systems thinking, and grassroots emergency management models. We’re also going to take a look at the emerging technologies, startups, and solo emergency management entrepreneurs that are shifting the paradigm of the work we do. I’m starting this season off with Brandi Hunter, celebrating the work she’s done as the founder of Aspiring Emergency Managers Online (AEMO), a supportive community bridging the gap between education and careers in emergency management. Brandi and the AEMO team empower students and emerging professionals with mentorship, job resources, and real-world insights. With the competitive nature of EM hiring, where experience is often a barrier, AEMO helps members navigate challenges like networking, certifications, and interview prep. Joining AEMO offers access to a network of peers and seasoned experts, including me, who are passionate about making emergency management more inclusive and accessible for all backgrounds. Premium subscribers will be able to access Emergent States early, extended, uncensored, ad-free, and with enhanced show guides giving you more immersive resources, links, discounts, research, access to ask guests questions, and more. We’re also reducing premium subscription costs to reduce the barrier to entry for this awesome content. An annual subscription is now $50 instead of $100 and will remain at this price through the end of the year.

This episode is part of my ongoing Disaster Discourse series where I interview the authors whose books are featured in the Disaster Discourse book club. All State of Disaster episodes can be found early, extended, with video and enhanced show guides at stateofdisaster.com. You can find this episode here. Donald Patterson is a retired SWAT commander, FBI National Academy graduate, and nationally recognized emergency management instructor. Across a 30-year career, he led tactical operations during mass shootings, wildfires, and high-risk manhunts, gaining firsthand experience in crisis leadership and real-world strategy. Today, he trains emergency response leaders through FEMA’s National Emergency Management Advanced Academy. Bear in the Dragon’s Shadow is Patterson’s debut thriller. It combines espionage, cyberwarfare, and military precision into a story that feels as urgent as today’s headlines. Drawing from his real-world background, Don brings unmatched authenticity and intensity to the genre. Read Don’s Book: Bear in the Dragon’s Shadow: Where Deception Meets StrategyJoin the Disaster Discourse Book ClubCheck out the Disaster Discourse BookshopVisit My Partners and FriendsAspiring Emergency Managers Online (AEMO): Empowering and supporting the next cohort of emergency management professionals through networking, training, mentoring, other career support resources and job opportunities. Emergency Management External Affairs Association (EMEAA): A collaborative community serving as thought leaders in the advancement of crisis communications, external affairs outreach, and emergency management. PREPPR: The complete exercise platform for emergency management. Design. Deliver. Document. From scenario to AAR - one platform. Your expertise. No busywork. No overtime. **I recently joined the PREPPR team as an advisor. I think this is a fantastic tool that levels up exercise delivery. I specifically chose this platform because it empowers not replaces the emergency managers who do great work. HazAdapt: Helping a community get prepared is tough, especially with small teams and limited resources. The reality is that most people look for help in the moment, and that's why I recommend HazAdapt. HazAdapt is an award-winning emergency and disaster safety app that puts step-by-step preparedness, response, and recovery guidance in people’s hands. It is 100% free, works offline, and is used in all 50 states. Make it easier to adapt to hazards. I use it for myself and my family

A dive into the intersections of disability advocacy, emergency management policy, and the systemic shifts needed to protect the most vulnerable during a crisis. Take your seat at the Roundtable. Full video and show notes including links to books, research, references, and more can be found here. Aspiring Emergency Managers Online (AEMO): Empowering and supporting the next cohort of emergency management professionals through networking, training, mentoring, other career support resources and job opportunities. Emergency Management External Affairs Association (EMEAA): A collaborative community serving as thought leaders in the advancement of crisis communications, external affairs outreach, and emergency management. Pierce College: A leading educational institution providing specialized training and degrees in Emergency Management. Sign Language Interpretation by SpokenHere: A language services provider specializing in translation and interpretation to ensure messaging reaches every community, regardless of language barriers. And Me! More specifically, the State of Disaster show. My thanks to friend of the show, Dr. Sarah Miller for stepping in for me as the host and doing a great job. Show Hosts & Guest:Brandi Hunter Vincent Davis Dr. Sarah Miller Dr. Sherman Gillums Jr.

Partner Episode: State of Disaster is a media partner for the 2026 Disasters Expo Miami As I announced last week, I am a media partner for this year’s Disasters Expo Miami. In this episode, I interview Molly Schwerdt and Evie Poole, who are representing the incredible Disasters Expo and Resilient City marketing team. Of course, we talk about the Disasters Expo and that the Resilient City Expo is coming to Miami for the first time this year. We also talk about the immense work, logistics, and communication that it takes to put on such a complex event, and the parallels with emergency and disaster management. We also talk about the application of marketing tactics within emergency management because I can’t help myself. If you’re a premium subscriber, you can read my publication on the topic of applying marketing and sales tactics to the way we communicate with our communities. It’s in the archive at stateofdisaster.com. You can get your free tickets, see the video, transcript, and more here.

Hello, State of Disasterinos! This episode is a collaboration with some old friends, some new friends, our wrap up of the emergency management trends of 2025, and our thoughts about what we’ll see more of this year. This was hosted by the fantastic Kyle King and our friends at Crisis Lab. You can find the original episode post on their site, and panelist info on my Substack. Please follow all of them! If you are a State of Disaster premium subscriber, I have pulled all the mentioned research, initiatives, people, places, and things and put them in this week's premium show notes section on stateofdisaster.com Some Show Updates: I am a media partner with this year’s Disasters Expo in Miami. Disaster Expo USA is the nation’s leading event, uniting government agencies, first responders, industry suppliers, and innovators dedicated to protecting communities and critical infrastructure. And it is coming up pretty quickly, March 4th and 5th. But if you’re interested in going for free, here is your link for Free Disasters Expo Miami Tickets. Thank you as always to my partners: Aspiring Emergency Managers Online (AEMO) Emergency Management External Affairs Association If you would like to be a partner or sponsor of State of Disaster or the Disaster Discourse Book Club, I have just finalized the packages for the rest of this quarter. Send an email to [email protected] or click this link to book a meeting with me.

Dan Stoneking is the Vice President and Founder of the Emergency Management External Affairs Association with more than 35 years of private and public external affairs and crisis communications experience. He held the position of Regional External Affairs Director at FEMA and preceding that role, he served as Director of Private Sector and Deputy and Acting Director within FEMA’s Office of Public Affairs. Dan’s experience includes his pivotal roles during crises including the 9/11 attack at the Pentagon; serving as lead spokesperson for the National Guard in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina; establishing the first-ever international joint information center in response to the catastrophic 2010 earthquake in Haiti, as spokesperson during response and recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and creating a coalition with the private sector to implement the first national business emergency operations center. Dan is the owner and principal of Dan Stoneking Strategic Communications LLC, author of Cultivate Your Garden: Crisis Communications From 30,000 Feet to Three Feet, a Columnist for Homeland Security Today, and an Adjunct Professor at West Chester University, PA. Dan recently joined the Disaster Discourse book club where we engage emergency management authors with their readers. Click here to join the conversation with over 190 international emergency managers. Enhanced show notes, references, and links will be sent directly to State of Disaster premium subscribers. State of Disaster is created and produced by Matt Green and Green Emergency Management Services Check out Our Partners: Aspiring Emergency Managers Online (AEMO) Emergency Management External Affairs Association

Welcome to the second Emergency Management Roundtable hosted through a partnership with Aspiring Emergency Managers Online, the Emergency Management External Affairs Association, me, your Friendly Neighborhood Emergency Manager and State of Disaster show host, and Pierce College. The Emergency Management Roundtable series is an awesome way for us to bring your questions and comments to leaders and innovators in the field about the current and future state of emergency and disaster management. When you register, you can submit your questions, and you can also participate in the live Q&A. These are all opportunities for you to claim your seat at the roundtable. Claim your seat at the next event here. Kate Starbird is a Professor at the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington (UW). Kate’s research sits within the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW). Extending from early work in crisis informatics, her research program has followed the phenomenon of online rumoring down the rabbit hole and into some of the toxic online spaces that are increasingly (re)shaping discourse, values, and politics around the world. In particular, Kate’s team has developed and deployed methods for conducting rapid research to help resolve rumors as they unfold. Another major contribution of her work has been to demonstrate that online disinformation — i.e. the intentional manipulation of discourse for political gain — is inherently participatory, taking shape through collaborations between witting agents and unwitting (though willing) crowds. Most recently, her research has converged on a conceptualization of right-wing media as effectively leveraging partisan, participatory dynamics through improvisational performances. Dr. Starbird received her BS in Computer Science from Stanford (1997) and her PhD in Technology, Media and Society from the University of Colorado (2012). She has received several awards for her research, including the ACM SIGCHI Societal Impact Award and a Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award. She is a co-founder and formerly served as director of the UW Center for an Informed Public, which works through research, education, and policy recommendations to strengthen democratic discourse by building resilience to online misinformation, propaganda, and manipulation.

I love calling this "The Definitive* Episode" because any conversation about AI is outdated nearly the moment it wraps recording, let alone the time it takes to edit and publish. I'm looking forward to releasing the next "definitive" AI episode, but in the meantime this interview is NOT what you may be expecting. This was recorded a few weeks ago with my friends, the good doctors, Sarah Miller and Ryan Rockabrand, who are both emergency management practitioners with PhDs in artificial intelligence. And wow this was not a conversation that I thought we were going to have. This is not the AI episode that you’re expecting. I promise. We blasted right past generative AI and landed on humanoids, nuclear reactors being built in your backyard, and the liability of not using AI for our work in the near future. The premium version episode is the length of a feature film, and it’s been live, ad-free, with video on stateofdisaster.com for about a week for premium subscribers. If you head over there, you’ll hear the bonus content about Ethics and laws about using AI to emulate someone or create a bot using their likeness. Like Sarah may or may not have done with Ryan. We also talk about the criminal use of AI and how malicious human engineering is evolving and escalating rapidly. Premium subscribers also get to ask my guests questions before and after their episodes air, and that’s how you can get your questions asked on the show, maybe even with a recording of your voice. Head over to stateofdisaster.com and enjoy all the cool stuff I’ve published along with extras from some of the awesome people you’ve heard on the show.

This is a very special episode, because this is the recording of the first Emergency Management Roundtable hosted through a partnership with Aspiring Emergency Managers Online, the Emergency Management External Affairs Association, and me, your Friendly Neighborhood Emergency Manager and show host. The Emergency Management Roundtable series is a fun way for us to bring your questions and comments to leaders and innovators in the field about the current and future state of emergency and disaster management. When you register, you can submit your questions and you can also participate in the live Q&A. These are all opportunities for you to claim your seat at the roundtable. Get it? Great. Because I love this concept and I love this episode because it’s with the incredible MaryAnn Tierney. On October 15th, we’re going to be interviewing Dr. Kate Starbird on her work with disaster disinformation, misinformation, and of course, the questions you ask from your seat at the table. Register here.

Alysha Kaplan is the current president of the Washington State Emergency Management Association. She's been an emergency manager for almost 20 years, and she's also the Deputy Director of King County Emergency Management. In this episode, we start with her incredible journey through the field, her experience coordinating with FEMA to manage disasters locally, and of course, the (potential) power of your local emergency management association. When we recorded this interview, the Washington State Emergency Management Association was striving for 300 members. I am so thrilled to announce that they have since surpassed that goal and continue to grow.

Stephanie DeLorenzo is a seasoned emergency management professional with over 12 years of experience navigating the complexities of crisis response and resilience building. Passionate about guiding others in the field, she authored Navigating the Chaos: The Ultimate Emergency Management Career Guide, a comprehensive resource for aspiring and current EM professionals. Stephanie is also the founder of Grey Sky Ready, a consulting firm dedicated to bridging the preparedness gap left by FEMA’s evolving role, helping communities and organizations build stronger, more adaptive disaster strategies. I wanted to create a season that addresses and challenges the current “paradigm” of emergency management. The big EM study was just published, and it confirmed what most of us already knew - most of our colleagues are doing this alone, and the cavalry is not coming. So, we change the paradigm of federal resource dependence. We fortify our capabilities from the ground up. We interrogate our own models, ask uncomfortable questions, and learn important truths that may empower us and our communities to support each other. Enjoy the show, and join the Disaster Discourse book club, where Stephanie joined us for a live discussion about her book.

Today's episode is incredible and as usual, has nothing to do with anything that I did. It just happens that my guest, Brenden Winder, is a fantastic emergency manager and human.  Brenden Winder is the head of emergency management at Christchurch City Council in New Zealand with two decades of experience in the sector. He's played a pivotal role in the response and recovery efforts following the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes, particularly in managing the Christchurch Red Zone. He's heavily involved in enhancing New Zealand's emergency management frameworks, focusing on tsunami risk, evacuation planning, and the use of AI in emergency management. He's deployed domestically and internationally and has co-authored emergency management documents as well. I know you'll enjoy this episode and I look forward to talking to Brenden again. I'm going to call this Universal Lessons in Disaster Management because I think if Brenden wrote a book about everything we discussed, it would be one of those mandatory reads for the field, because it's so applicable. Join Aspiring Emergency Managers Online for a free year of State of Disaster premium access. Join over 130 international members of the Disaster Discourse Book Club

On this episode that we recorded on my favorite day of the year, Star Wars Day, I'm joined by the incredible Ginny Katz. Ginny is the founder and CEO of HazAdapt, a safety app and platform transforming how communities prepare for and adapt to hazards.  Ginny is a Spitfire of research, innovation, and ethics on a mission to build a new era of emergency and safety technology that responsibly supports bottom-up resilience and top-down engagement throughout a disaster. At the front of community resilience innovation, Ginny and the HazAdapt team are redefining how people and communities engage with safety information and discovering online and offline insights critical for local emergency managers and preparedness authorities. Paid subscribers on stateofdisaster.com get to see the extended version of this interview with a demo of the NEW ResiliencePoint feature that shows emergency managers how their community is interacting with hazard guidance, revealing trends, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen resilience. You also get to see me have an allergy attack mid-recording! FUN! You can access the HazAdapt app directly for free by clicking here!