Andrea L. Higdon, of Bloomfield, Kentucky, graduated from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s  National Emergency Management Basic Academy at the Emergency Management Institute Aug. 4.

EMI created the academy to produce a comprehensive curriculum that provides the foundational knowledge and skills needed to support the unpredictable challenges in the field of emergency management. Additionally, for those who are new to emergency management or for those who are transferring from another profession, this academy provides a unique opportunity to build camaraderie and establish professional contacts.

Higdon and other emergency managers from across the United Statescompleted the five courses in the Basic Academy that includes Foundations of Emergency Management; Science of Disaster; Planning: Emergency Operations; Exercise Design; and Public Information and Warning. To graduate, she fulfilled a total of 152 hours of training.   

“The program helped us understand how our emergency management roles integrate across all disciplines and levels of government,” said Higdon, emergency management system director for the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.  “I am now able to better apply my skills in preparedness, planning and exercises to address needs from a whole community perspective.”

The Basic Academy is the first phase of FEMA’s new Emergency Management Professional Program. The EMPP curriculum is designed to be a lifetime of learning for emergency managers and includes three separate, but closely related, training programs. The National Emergency Management Basic Academy is a gateway for individuals pursuing a career in emergency management. The National Emergency Management Leaders Academy is designed for emerging leaders and mid-level managers who lead emergency management programs and want to advance their skillset. The Executive Academy is designed for senior-level executives who are responsible for making decisions that have a significant effect on prevention, protection and mitigation policy or the management of disaster response and recovery.

For more information on FEMA’s training classes through the Basic, Leaders and Executive Academies, or other emergency management courses, go to http://training.fema.gov/empp/.