1. CIEP: I understand you worked for FEMA on the East Coast. What made you choose this job, and what do you bring?

Sue Pniewski (SP): Before moving to Washington, I was a FEMA reservist. This meant that I was away from home for at least 6 months out of the year. My husband and I moved to Washington to be near our grandchildren. My husband’s health no longer makes it a good idea for me to be away from home so much, so I resigned from FEMA. I was very sad because I enjoyed helping disaster survivors.

Fortunately, I soon found that the Access & Functional Needs Program Manager position was open with WA Emergency Management Department. This position demands that I use all my skills and requires that I grow and deepen those skills. This is a unique opportunity to promote systems change in emergency management here in Washington and a challenge that I was eager to accept.

I have brought nearly 25 years of combined experience in Independent Living for people with disabilities and inclusive emergency management. I have developed effective programs to serve people with disabilities under tight budget constraints. Perhaps most importantly, I bring a passion for the mission. The voices of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs must be heard, understood, and acted upon. We cannot leave anyone behind.

2. CIEP: Have you personally experienced a disaster, and what was it like?

SP: I lived in Toms River, NJ, when Hurricane Sandy hit. I was about 10 miles inland, so my house was fine, but my community was devastated. My life has changed because of it, and it’s the reason that I am involved in emergency management today.

3. CIEP: Knowing that the ADA and other accessibility laws and regulations remain in full effect during disasters, what gaps have you seen in emergency planning?

SP: Perhaps one of the biggest gaps I see is the lack of attention and funding given to local emergency management. Some counties have very robust emergency management departments, but many have 1 emergency manager or maybe ½ of a position. I have even seen counties where there is no emergency management position and local law enforcement does the best they can to meet the need. Having a D/AFN (Disability/Access & Functional Needs) position at the local level is even more rare. With more resources, local emergency management will be capable of doing more in a more accessible way.

Secondly, we need to be honest about how long it may be before help can arrive and assist people in learning how to plan. This includes getting to know their local emergency managers, understanding the hazards where they live, planning with their network of support, and practicing that plan. Calling 911 is not an effective plan.

4. CIEP: What are some of the best practices in inclusive emergency planning have you noticed around Washington?

SP: Two best practices in Washington that I have observed include a very robust FAST (Functional Assessment Service Teams) network, much more than I have seen in other states.  FAST will help assess people with access and functional needs and assist them by getting what they need to stay in a shelter.

The second example is the Coalition on Inclusive Emergency Planning, led by the Washington Statewide Independent Living Council (WASILC). CIEP is an incredibly dynamic force within the state in driving inclusive emergency management before, during and after disasters.  It provides the input of people with lived experience and is available to all emergency managers in the state.

5. CIEP: After several months with EMD, what do you envision for AFN and its impact on our partners across the state?

SP: I believe the program will grow organically to meet the needs of emergency managers, community organizations, and people in our communities. Currently I am working on the following projects:

• Provide inclusive emergency management planning, preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation trainings/presentations, including a Washington-focused G197 – Integrating Access & Functional Needs into Emergency Management, to EMD staff, tribal/local emergency managers, community organizations, and community members.

• Develop a network of relationships with community service organizations across the state.

• Develop materials on inclusive best practices including inclusive meetings, collaborating with ASL interpreters, document accessibility, etc.

• Purchase assistive listening systems to improve access at public meetings and loan them tribal/local EMs for same.

• Provide education and subject matter expertise to EMD staff to ensure our public documents are accessible.

• Update and reinvent the WA EMD AFN webpage

• Develop and distribute quarterly AFN program updates with relevant D/AFN information

• Add ASL to EMD informational videos and develop preparedness videos focused on the Deaf/deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf/Blind communities.