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The Certification Commission is composed of representatives nominated by their respective sponsoring Council Board and approved by the USA Board. There are 18-30 Commission seats depending on workload/volume of applicants.
The Certification Commission reflects the spectrum of emergency management expertise, including all levels of governmental emergency management programs (local, state, tribal, federal) and all environments of practice including but not limited to private sector, military installations, not-for-profit/volunteer-based, campuses and healthcare organizations. This ensures that all candidates are peer-reviewed. All Certification Commission members must hold a current CEM certification.
The Certification Commission is a peer-review body and ensures that the Certification Program remains open, fair and impartial; retains integrity; and implements the mission of emergency management by certifying that successful applicants have met the minimum standards outlined in the program. See the listing of Past Certification Commission Chairs.
John Fessler, CEM Vice President of Environmental Health and Safety Fox Corporation Simi Valley, CA
USA/Canada/Africa/International/Latin America and Caribbean/Middle East/: Michelle Oblinsky, CEM VEST Director Virginia Department of Emergency Management North Chesterfield, VA Asia/Europa/Oceania: Christopher Ainsworth, CEM, MBA Executive Officer - Principal Emergency Management - Business Continuity 'raemec' austraia / KP3 Collaboration Blackwood, SA, Australia
Billy Anderson, CEM Sr. Emergency Management Specialist Sound Transit Seattle, WA First Term – Local
David Bujak, CEM Senior Planner IEM Cortland, OH First Term – Campus
Billy (B.J.) Dvorak, CEM Emergency Management Coordinator Linn County Emergency Management Cedar Rapids, IA Second Term – At-Large
Peter Hirai, CEM Emergency Management Specialist U.S. Marine Corps Installations - Pacific FPO, AP Second Term – Military
William Hurtes, CEM Owner HTC International Charleston, SC First Term – Consultant/Not-for-Profit
Douglas Mayne, CEM Senior Consultant, Disaster Management Witt O'Brien's LLC Olympia, WA Second Term – Military & State
Ralph Nazzaro, CEM Senior Homeland Security Analyst Ascenttra Annandale, VA First Term – Healthcare
Michelle Oblinsky, CEM VEST Director Virginia Department of Emergency Management North Chesterfield, VA Second Term – State
Ross Patterson, CEM Emergency Management Coordinator Winston Salem/Forsyth County Emergency Management Winston Salem, NC Second Term – Not-for-profit
Michael Ripley, CEM Global Crisis Management The Walt Disney Company Burbank, CA Second Term – At-Large
Jon Fessler, CEM Director of Environmental Health and Safety Fox Corporation Simi Valley, CA Second Term – Private Industry
Jason Higginbotham, CEM, LEM Director of Emergency Management Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans New Orleans, LA Second Term – Academia
Sean Holland, CEM Manager, Airport Operations Center – JFK The Port Authority of NY & NJ, John F. Kennedy International Airport Hampton, NJ First Term – State
Thomas Ignelzi, CEM Program Manager Securing the Cities Program - New Orleans Region Belle Chasse, LA First Term – Local EM
Lanita Lloyd, CEM GA Director The Salvation Army Villa Rica, GA First Term – Non-Profit
Alexander Markowski, CEM Director of Business Continuity Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Brooklyn, NY Second Term – Private Industry
Sarah Miller, CEM Consultant S.K. Miller Consulting Auburn, WA First Term – Consultant
Gary Teeler, CEM Manager - Public Safety Support Lower Colorado River Authority Kyle, TX First Term – Non-Profit
Libby Turner, CEM Turner Associates, LLC Lawrenceville, GA First Term – Federal
Shad Ahmed, CEM Emergency Management Salem, NH First Term – Local EM
Lawrence Cattano, Jr., CEM Director OEM City of Perth Amboy Perth Amboy, NJ First Term – Local EM
Daniel Dunn, Jr., CEM Operations Officer United States Coast Guard Daphne, AL First Term – Military
Heather Long, CEM Area Emergency Manager Veteran’s Health Administration Pittsburgh, PA Second Term – Healthcare
Kimberly Nagel, CEM Emergency Manager INOVA Fairfax Medical Campus Woodbridge, VA First Term – Healthcare
Michael Riedy, CEM Hawaii FEMA Integration Team Lead FEMA Kailua, HI First Term – Federal
IAEM-Africa Representative Open
IAEM-Asia Representative Kyoo-Man Ha, CEM Adjunct Professor Inje University Changwon, Gyeongnam, South Korea First Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-Canada Representative David Day, CEM Manager, Emergency and Safety Services City of St. John's St. John's, NL Canada First Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-Canada Alternate Representative Jennifer Smysnuik, CEM Manager Emergency Management City of Toronto OEM Toronto, ON M3C 3N3 Canada Second Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-Canada Alternate Representative
Danielle Trudeau, CEM, ABCP, MDMa Executive Director TopShelf Emergency Management Richmond, BC Canada First Term (completing term 12/31/2026)
IAEM-Middle East Represenative
Steve Glassey, CEM Director Public Safety Institute Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates First Term (completing term 12/31/2024)
IAEM-Europa Representative George Karagiannis, CEM Engineering Leadership Group Director Resilience First London, England First Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-International Representative Open
IAEM Latin America and Caribbean Representative Open
IAEM-Middle East Representative Open
IAEM-Oceania Representative Christopher Ainsworth, CEM, MBA Executive Officer - Principal Emergency Management - Business Continuity 'raemec' austraia / KP3 Collaboration Blackwood, SA, Australia Second Term (completing term 12-31-2026)
NEMA Representative Open
FEMA Representative Tony Russell, CEM Superintendent Center for Domestic Preparedness Anniston, AL
Board Liaison Valerie Lucus-McEwen IAEM-USA Region 8 President Lecturer California State University iaem.r8@iaem.com
Staff Liaison Kate McClimans Program Manager International Association of Emergency Managers 201 Park Washington Court Falls Church, VA 22046-4527 (703) 538-1795 kate@iaem.com
IAEM® and CEM® are registered trademarks of the International Association of Emergency Managers.