Here at Hagerty, we truly believe the advantage is our people. September is National Preparedness Month (NPM), an annual observance and outreach campaign sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that promotes the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies now and throughout the year. In honor of this, we are highlighting three members of our Preparedness Team to discuss their career paths, professional experiences, and perspectives on the top disaster threats facing communities now and the essential preparedness steps individuals can take to strengthen disaster resilience and mitigate future hazards.
1. Tell us about yourself and how your career path led you to Hagerty.
Patrick Van Horne: While my formal journey into disaster management began as a volunteer with Team Rubicon in 2012 as Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New York, I’d say that my path into the field really started after September 11, 2001. Since then, I’ve served as an officer in the Marine Corps, as an entrepreneur supporting public safety agencies, and as an emergency manager in Boulder, Colorado, before joining Hagerty in June 2020.
Zach Annett: I’ve been interested in disaster response and homeland security ever since I was a little kid – growing up in Florida, I was constantly amazed by the power of tropical storms and hurricanes. Moreover, my family’s strong military background, with both my father and grandfather serving, exposed me to their captivating stories of facing challenging situations that most people would avoid. I think their dedication to helping people led to my desire to be a part of something bigger than myself. These experiences are why I ultimately pursued a career in emergency management. After graduating from Florida State University (FSU, I started my career in 2015, working with communities across the Big Bend region of Florida, supporting the areas that contributed so much to who I was as a person. It also provided me with a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the nuances of emergency management and preparedness at the local level. What drew me to Hagerty was not only the opportunity to grow as a professional and work alongside some of the most talented and passionate individuals in my field, but it also provided me with a platform to apply my knowledge and experiences to assist communities and organizations nationwide.
Colleen Brennan: Growing up on the Florida Gulf Coast means emergency management has been a part of my entire life, whether I was aware of it or not. My career in emergency management began with an internship in the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s (FDEM) State Floodplain Management Office (SFMO) while studying at FSU. I witnessed and supported a full-scale state activation in response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, approximately two weeks into my new role, and pursued an internship with Florida’s State Watch Office (SWO) during my last semester. After graduation, I committed 10 months to the FEMA Corps – AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program to broaden my understanding of the emergency management field by assisting communities across the country.
Before joining Hagerty, I spent about two years with the State of New York’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) in the Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) Planning Department. I viewed a role at Hagerty as a chance to help create innovative and intelligent solutions for preparedness, response, and recovery effort challenges with diverse stakeholders experiencing a variety of threats and vulnerabilities.
2. What do you find most rewarding about working in the field of emergency management, specifically preparedness?
Patrick Van Horne: For many of our clients, the role of the emergency manager is being elevated into a more strategic position in their organizations. In a long-duration incident, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency managers are not just involved in managing the crisis itself, but they are also asked to help lead the organization while it is operating under emergency conditions.
Getting to support clients as they prepare their communities and organizations at a strategic level is really exciting. The challenges that emergency managers face in these roles are not easy ones to solve, and they are made even tougher to navigate with the wide variety of threats and hazards our communities face. However, being able to help organizations prepare themselves for what feels like an uncertain future is very rewarding.
Zach Annett: Disasters start and end with the people impacted. Growing up, my family faced multiple power outages and home flooding due to severe weather events. These experiences taught me the importance of proper preparation for responding to and recovering from such situations. Working in emergency management, specifically in preparedness, is rewarding because it helps connect families and businesses to crucial resources and information before disasters strike.
Having a well-thought-out plan in place is a key component of this preparedness. For example, ensuring that families have generators or alternative power sources can make a significant difference during power outages. Having the right insurance coverage can also alleviate the financial burden of property damage. When individuals and communities are well-prepared, they can respond more effectively and recover faster from disasters. This not only reduces the immediate impact of the crisis but also speeds up the return to a state of normalcy.
Colleen Brennan: The most rewarding part about working in preparedness is seeing how our efforts increase foresight beyond immediate life safety threats and return communities to daily life through recovery and response operations. While the phases of emergency management are typically represented in a linear cycle, emergency managers are aware that this is not always the reality. Emergency incidents of all natures are complex, dynamic, and continually challenging the preparedness posture of an emergency management program. Maintaining a preparedness perspective throughout response and recovery is essential to identifying new approaches and practices that equip emergency managers with the skills, tools, and knowledge to respond to and recover from incidents in ever-changing environments more effectively. Both small- and large-scale obstacles encountered in operations can go unaddressed in future plans, training, and exercises due to the nature of fast-paced work and focus on big picture objectives.
Preparedness is a continual process feeding off response and recovery experiences that opens the door to digging into program challenges and enhancing efforts on all fronts. Witnessing the confidence and success of emergency managers leveraging a thoughtful, customized, and effective plan, training, or exercise reminds me of the importance of my work at Hagerty.
3. What do you see as the top disaster threats facing communities now, and what advice do you have on how to prevent or prepare for those threats?
Patrick Van Horne: I think that the top disaster threats any community faces are those that people don’t think could possibly happen in their community or feel they aren’t equipped to prepare for. Unique to each community, these threats could be fast-moving wildfires, a dam failure, a long-term power outage, a Category (Cat) 5 hurricane, an earthquake, or a cyber-attack from a nation-state adversary.
I believe that emergency managers and communities are getting better at preparing for disasters that they can envision and that they think are possible, but the disasters that feel too big to prepare for are the ones that will impact those communities the most if and when they occur.
Since there is no single “right way” to prepare for a disaster, I believe that it is important for emergency managers to continually look across the field to see what people are trying and think critically about what will help them, their organization, and their community should a disaster strike. Identifying the practices and approaches that fit each organization, whether innovative or tried-and-true, and determining which solutions can be immediately implemented versus those that need to be tweaked to fit unique needs can help each community make meaningful strides to being ready for whatever comes.
Zach Annett: In recent years, natural disasters have grown in severity, with their impacts cascading into more widespread disruptions. Many of the preparedness plans developed in the past may no longer fully account for the evolving risks we face today. To effectively address these challenges, communities must take an honest and thorough look at their unique risk profiles and current capabilities. This entails assessing both their strengths and weaknesses in relation to the specific hazards they are most susceptible to.
While this process is fundamental to disaster preparedness, communities often hesitate when conducting such self-assessments. However, by delaying the evaluation of their capabilities and risks, communities forestall the baseline for solid planning. Understanding where a community excels and where additional support is needed enables proactive resource allocation and focused efforts just before or after a disaster occurs. This streamlined approach enhances a community’s ability to rapidly restore essential services and regain a sense of normalcy, ultimately making the community more resilient in the face of evolving threats.
Colleen Brennan: Warming ocean temperatures have contributed to an increase in flood impacts across the United States (US). This year alone, the country has experienced flooding from rainfall, snow melt, and storm surge. As the costs of incidents increase, insurance availability decreases or becomes too expensive, rendering lifelong residents more vulnerable to impacts and unable to recover. Performing assessments and identifying areas with the highest vulnerabilities helps community leaders prioritize resilience projects and efforts to mitigate the future impacts of those most affected. Additionally, community residents should review their current policies and ensure they have appropriate coverage for the worst-case scenario.
4. What low/no-cost preparedness steps can individuals and communities take to strengthen disaster resiliency?
Patrick Van Horne: Building stronger relationships with your neighbors and your community is really critical when discussing disaster resiliency. In a large-scale disaster, your neighbor might be able to provide help much sooner than any government agency can. Having people that you can call, text, or knock on their door when you are in need can go a long way to preparing for disasters and doesn’t require anything more than time and a neighborly attitude. It is a simple step to take, but it is not always easy. It takes time and sometimes requires that you push past your comfort zone. But in a disaster, it can go a long way.
Zach Annett: One of the simplest yet most impactful steps emergency management organizations can take to empower their communities is to focus on outreach and engagement. This involves bolstering your presence on social media platforms, participating in local events by setting up informational booths, and hosting annual preparedness gatherings that bring together both public and private sector partners to distribute emergency supplies and informative materials. Awareness is one of the most important tools of preparedness. When communities are aware of the available resources and support well before a disaster strikes, they are better equipped to make informed decisions that can reduce the severity of the challenges they might face. By actively engaging with and informing the community, emergency management organizations play a vital role in cultivating a proactive and well-prepared population.
Colleen Brennan: Opportunities for communities to fund disaster resilience do not always come around often. Preparing for these instances can be as important as preparing for response and recovery. Once recovery, resilience, or mitigation funding is identified and allocated, local jurisdictions may be stuck wondering what priority areas and challenges need to be addressed, how innovation can be brought to the region, and what priorities community members support. Convening a local group of stakeholders can help answer these questions and expedite the decision-making process. Overall, resilience increases when areas most vulnerable to physical and social shocks and stressors become stronger. Leveraging existing community and historical data may be a low-cost way of identifying areas to prioritize.
Additionally, resilience projects and initiatives often promote innovation through solutions addressing multiple cross-sector challenges. For example, developing a community park around new, green stormwater management infrastructure with capacity for park-and-ride services can mitigate area flood challenges, increase community access to natural resources and provide recreation, restore and rehabilitate wildlife habitats, lower vehicle emissions and driver transportation costs, and decrease traffic congestion. Proactively identifying patterns and themes in stakeholder challenges can help community leaders craft future projects that are transformative to their resilience posture. Socializing and messaging these plans and enhancements to community members may reduce opposition by highlighting community benefits. Ultimately, preparedness efforts should consider data identifying the areas most susceptible to impacts, convene with cross-sector stakeholders to align emerging challenges and make solutions more impactful, and engage with community members to increase the support towards strengthening resilience.
5. What is the best concert you have ever attended?
Patrick Van Horne: In 2010, Jay-Z and Eminem performed at Yankee Stadium. No other concert has ever come close!
Zach Annett: The best concert I have ever attended was a Rufus Du Sol concert in Charlotte, North Carolina. I had never heard their music before, but I was able to attend it with some of my closest friends. Not only did I walk away with some great memories with friends I do not see often enough, but I’ve also now been listening to the music non-stop.
Colleen Brennan: My favorite concert memory was when I went to see Miley Cyrus with my younger sister. We went right after I received my driver’s license and had a blast!
To learn more about Hagerty’s work supporting communities in capabilities assessments, organized exercises, and emergency preparedness plan development, visit our Preparedness page.
Patrick Van Horne is Hagerty’s former Deputy Director of Preparedness and an experienced project manager and public servant with over 18 years of experience. In his role, Patrick provides leadership and management of programs in support of the division’s operations and growth. Prior to joining Hagerty, he worked with various government clients, led a range of preparedness projects, and supported non-profit organizations.
Zach Annett is a Managing Associate in Hagerty’s Preparedness Division with over seven years of experience preparing for and responding to emergency events, including Hurricanes Ian, Irma, Matthew, and Hermine. At Hagerty, Zach has provided program management support to government and private sector entities nationwide, in addition to coordinating response operations for state-level emergency management and public health organizations.
Colleen Brennan is an Associate in Hagerty’s Preparedness Division. At Hagerty, Colleen has supported a diverse portfolio of projects, including projects within the Security and Threat Management sector. Prior to joining Hagerty, she supported the response and recovery efforts for various notable disasters, including COVID-19, Hurricanes Irma, Maria, Florence, Michael, and Ida, along with multiple winter weather events in upstate New York.