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Certification Commission

Certification Commission

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.

Certification Commissioners (as of Jan. 1, 2023)

Commission Chair

Glenn H. Jones, CEM Emergency Management Coordinator City of Peoria Peoria, AZ  623-773-5207

Commission Vice Chair

Jon Fessler, CEM
Director of Environmental Health and Safety
Fox Corporation
Simi Valley, CA
310-369-5362

 

Class of 2025

Jon Fessler, CEM
Director of Environmental Health and Safety
Fox Corporation
Simi Valley, CA
310-369-5362
Second Term – Private Industry

Jason Higginbotham, CEM, LEM
Director of Emergency Management
Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
504-585-2015
Second Term – Academia

Sean Holland, CEM
Manager, Airport Operations Center – JFK
The Port Authority of NY & NJ, John F. Kennedy International Airport
Hampton, NJ
518-369-5431
First Term – State

Thomas Ignelzi, CEM
Program Manager
Securing the Cities Program - New Orleans Region
Belle Chasse, LA
504-874-0450
First Term – Local EM

Lanita Lloyd, CEM
GA Director
The Salvation Army
Villa Rica, GA
404-550-3707
First Term – Non-Profit

Alexander Markowski, CEM
Director of Business Continuity
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY
718-986-1768
Second Term – Private Industry

Sarah Miller, CEM
Consultant
S.K. Miller Consulting
Auburn, WA
(253) 293-5781
First Term – Consultant

Gary Teeler, CEM
Manager - Public Safety Support
Lower Colorado River Authority
Kyle, TX
512-484-2865
First Term – Non-Profit

Libby Turner, CEM
Turner Associates, LLC
Lawrenceville, GA
770-513-4546
First Term – Federal


Class of 2024

Shad Ahmed, CEM
Emergency Management
Salem, NH
(401) 709-9472
First Term – Local EM

Lawrence Cattano, Jr., CEM
Director OEM
City of Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy, NJ
(732) 324-3850
First Term – Local EM

Daniel Dunn, Jr., CEM
Operations Officer
United States Coast Guard
Daphne, AL
(781) 927-4559
First Term – Military

Heather Long, CEM
Area Emergency Manager
Veteran’s Health Administration
Pittsburgh, PA
(412) 736-0832
Second Term – Healthcare

Kimberly Nagel, CEM
Emergency Manager
INOVA Fairfax Medical Campus
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 919-2162
First Term – Healthcare

Michael Riedy, CEM
ESF11 Regional Emergency Coordinator for Region X
USDA
Bothell, WA
(425) 286-9990
First Term – Federal


Class of 2023

Billy Anderson, CEM
Sr. Emergency Management Specialist
Sound Transit
Seattle, WA
(817) 903-6885
One Year Term – Local

Billy (B.J.) Dvorak, CEM
Emergency Management Coordinator
Linn County Emergency Management
Cedar Rapids, IA
319-892-6501
First Term – At-Large

Carlos Garcia, CEM
Director, IUPUI Campus
Emergency Management & Continuity
Indianapolis, IN
317-274-1802
Second Term – Campus

Peter Hirai, CEM
Emergency Management Specialist
U.S. Army Pacific
Honolulu, HI
808-786-0257
First Term – Military

Glenn H. Jones, CEM
Emergency Management Coordinator
City of Peoria
Peoria, AZ 
623-773-5207
Second Term – Local EM

Pamela L'Heureux, CEM
Emergency Manager
Retired local EM; FEMA Reservist
East Waterboro, ME 
207-793-8799
Second Term – Local EM

Douglas Mayne, CEM
Senior Consultant, Disaster Management
Witt O'Brien's LLC
Olympia, WA
360-481-7145
First Term – Military & State

Patricia A. McIntosh, CEM
Emergency Management Coordinator
College of the Mainland
Texas City, TX 
409-933-8267
Second Term – Campus & Academic

Michelle Oblinsky, CEM
VEST Director
Virginia Department of Emergency Management
North Chesterfield, VA
804-629-5474
First Term – State

George Patterson, CEM
Emergency Management Coordinator
Winston Salem/Forsyth County Emergency Management
Winston Salem, NC
743-900-3756
First Term – Not-for-profit

Michael Ripley, CEM
Global Crisis Management
The Walt Disney Company
Burbank, CA
818-560-6246
First Term – At-Large 


Council Representatives

IAEM-Africa Representative
Open

IAEM-Asia Representative
Kyoo-Man Ha, CEM

Adjunct Professor
Inje University
Changwon, Gyeongnam, South Korea
+82-(0)10-2511-2593
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
(709) 576-2721
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
416-392-3829
Second Term (completing term 12-31-2025)

IAEM-Canada Alternate Representative
Open

IAEM-Europa Representative
George Karagiannis, CEM

Engineering Leadership Group Director
Resilience First
London, England
gmkaragiannis@gmail.com
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 
+414374096
First Term (completing term 12-21-2023)


Appointments - Ex-Officio

NEMA Representative
Open

FEMA Representative
Tony Russell, CEM

Superintendent
Center for Domestic Preparedness
Anniston, AL

Lead Instructor
Daryl Lee Spiewak, CEM, CFM

Emergency Action Coordinator
DLS Consulting
Woodway, TX
H: 254-776-7117; C: 254-640-1076
Local EM/military representative since 2005

Board Liaison
Justin Kates, CEM

IAEM-USA 2nd Vice President Director of Emergency Management City of Nashua, New Hampshire USA2ndVP@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.