04/25/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/25/2024 12:09
The Office of External Affairs to Host First-Ever National Summit on Risk Communications, Crisis Communications, and Community Engagement
WASHINGTON -- FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell advanced the Office of External Affairs by changing the titles of Director Justin Ángel Knighten and Deputy Director Lucas Hitt to Associate Administrator and Deputy Associate Administrator. The title elevation acknowledges the growth and office's heightened focus on advancing equity, climate resilience, readiness, building partnerships and operationalizing FEMA's community engagement work.
"As an agency and across external affairs, we strive to become more culturally competent before, during and after disaster to better understand, communicate and interact with people across communities and cultures. The ever-expanding communications landscape has made building and maintaining trust in our mission and message more important and more challenging than ever before," said Associate Administrator Knighten. "As FEMA Administrator Criswell has said, we are successful when we put people first. We are prioritizing and strengthening how we listen, learn and design strategies responsive to the needs of people that create the meaningful connections and changes in behavior critical in all phases of resilience building, response and recovery."
"Accurate, reliable and accessible information is an essential commodity for survivors and the public when disasters strike and across the recovery process and that's this team's mission," said Deputy Associate Administrator Hitt. "Our office remains more committed than ever to ensuring that every community has a seat at the table and are partners in our work to help people before, during and after disasters."
While FEMA is typically recognized as a preparedness, response and recovery agency, now more than ever, the Office of External Affairs is leading yet another space for the agency - that of resiliency. The Office of External Affairs is directing the 2024 Year of Resilience communications campaign, which is an opportunity to share best resilience practices, advance new innovative ideas and protect even more people in disaster's path.
Additionally, under the office leadership, the nation's preparedness Ready and Listo campaigns, in partnership with the Ad Council, were shifted to be accessible and culturally competent, with a focus on targeting communities disproportionally impacted by the hazards that continue to threaten our nation. The campaign expanded outreach to Latino, Black and African American and older adult communities, including people with disabilities, those living in rural areas and those with limited resources. To prepare the nation for the extreme temperatures becoming more prevalent across the country, the Ready campaign also launched the inaugural awareness initiatives - #SummerReady for extreme heat and #WinterReady for extreme cold to help communities build resilience ahead of extreme weather events.
Acknowledging that disaster planning and response takes a whole community of effective communicators, on June 10, 2024, the Office will host FEMA's first-ever National Summit on Risk Communications, Crisis Communications and Community Engagement. The Summit will convene communicators across federal government, emergency management, government at all levels, academics and cross-sector partners who are on the front-line of the climate and emerging hazard crises.
The Office of External Affairs encompasses six divisions including Public Affairs and Planning, Intergovernmental Affairs, Congressional Affairs, Coordination Business Operations, Disaster Operations and Communications as well as ten regional external affairs offices and a talented cadre of external affairs field staff supporting survivors across the nation. The Office continues to remain committed to enhancing storytelling, improving accessibility, building relationships, championing communities and fostering a learning culture.