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Academic emergency‑management advocate urges commission to professionalize local disaster response
Summary
Dr. Jennifer Carlson, a professor and certified emergency manager, testified in favor of H885, calling for a special commission to study and recommend ways to professionalize emergency‑management positions across Massachusetts to improve local disaster response.
Dr. Jennifer Carlson, professor of emergency management at Anna Maria College and a certified emergency manager, urged the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management to advance H885, a resolve to create a special commission on emergency management.
Carlson said Massachusetts needs to professionalize the field so local communities have dedicated, trained emergency‑management leaders rather than relying on part‑time “second‑hat” appointees. “Every disaster is local and the decisions we make here today … determine how well our communities in Massachusetts are prepared to respond to the next disaster,” she said, citing experience in Hurricane Katrina, the Boston Marathon bombing and COVID‑19 operations.
The proposed commission would study and issue recommendations on staffing, training, accreditation, and infrastructure to build a more consistent emergency‑management workforce across municipalities. Carlson described the commission as a bipartisan, practical step to save lives and improve readiness.
Representative David Viera (present during testimony) and other members thanked Carlson for her work; the committee did not take immediate final action on H885 at the hearing.
