Barbara Miller of Jefferson County Homeland Security and Emergency Management graduated from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Emergency Management Leaders Academy at the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) on Oct. 23, along with 28 other participants of Cohort I.

The National Emergency Management Leaders Academy reinforces the qualities needed to lead emergency management programs, provides relevant management theories and concepts, and utilizes an experiential education approach with activities and case studies. By working within their cohort, Leaders Academy participants work within a collaborative environment on projects and establish a network of peers.

Miller completed the four resident courses in the Leaders Academy series that includes progressive week long courses titled, An Overview of Leadership in Emergency Management; Application of Personal Leadership in Emergency Management; Leadership in the Emergency Management Organization; and Emergency Management Leadership in the Community and Profession.

The Leadership Academy is designed for emergency management leaders in state, local, tribal, territorial and Federal government agencies; non-profit voluntary organizations; and the private sector. Enduring themes of the Academy include: whole community, innovation, critical thinking and complex problem solving.

The Emergency Management Professional Program (EMPP) curriculum is designed as 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: training.fema.gov/empp/.