SAJJAD KAZMI

Delaware Technical and Community College

Dover, Delaware

Mr. Sajjad Kazmi is currently attending the Delaware Technical and Community College, majoring in Homeland Defense and Emergency Management. Along with continuing his education, he recently completed a 2-month internship at the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA). Accumulating 128 hours of work experience, Mr. Kazmi experienced the full spectrum and scope of DEMA operations, planning, and emergency management functions. He served primarily as a planner. He contributed to various projects and duties and was provided full access to the facilities and processes. Mr. Kazmi has learned about various subjects including radiological disasters, intelligence reports, plume exposure, the Presidential declaration process, how to combat a major snow storm, how to communicate effectively, public speaking, standard operating procedures, emergency planning, preparing for conferences, Community Emergency Response Team/Citizen Corps, chain of command, networking amongst fellow peers and, most importantly, that every situation is different and quite simply that emergency management is always a work in progress.

Mr. Kazmi just recently graduated from a study abroad cultural immersion program in Ecuador. Although this course focused on cultural immersion, he did get a chance to briefly discuss emergency management for volcanic eruptions with Director Pablo Morillo, realizing how far behind most of the world really is in understanding emergency management and the phases that we have identified here at home in the United States. What Mr. Kazmi hopes to get out of the Higher Education Conference is:

·  Understand the concepts and applications of emergency management to include the National Response Framework, National Incident Management System, and the Incident Command System.

·  Gain familiarity with the Emergency Operations Plan and how it is applied to mitigate, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from threats, hazards, and emergency incidents and events.

·  Network with peers and emergency management professionals.

·  Gain a better overall understanding and increase knowledge in all aspects of emergency management.

June 2, 2010