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The Certification Commission is composed of representatives nominated by their respective sponsoring Council Board and approved by the USA Board. There are 18-30 Commission seats depending on workload/volume of applicants.
The Certification Commission reflects the spectrum of emergency management expertise, including all levels of governmental emergency management programs (local, state, tribal, federal) and all environments of practice including but not limited to private sector, military installations, not-for-profit/volunteer-based, campuses and healthcare organizations. This ensures that all candidates are peer-reviewed. All Certification Commission members must hold a current CEM certification.*
The Certification Commission is a peer-review body and ensures that the Certification Program remains open, fair and impartial; retains integrity; and implements the mission of emergency management by certifying that successful applicants have met the minimum standards outlined in the program. See the listing of Past Certification Commission Chairs.
Jon Fessler, CEM VP of Environment, Health and Safety Fox Corporation Los Angeles, CA
Michelle Oblinsky, CEM Chief of the VEST Virginia Department of Emergency Management North Chesterfield, VA
Shad Ahmed, CEM Emergency Management Oregon City, OR Second Term – Local EM
Allison Bain, CEM Commander, 633rd Medical Support Squadron United States Air Force Newport News, VA First Term – Military and Healthcare
Kathy Brown, CEM Deputy Director Union County EMA Marysville, OH First Term – Local EM
Lawrence Cattano, Jr., CEM Director OEM City of Perth Amboy Perth Amboy, NJ Second Term – Local EM
Daniel Dunn, Jr., CEM Operations Officer United States Coast Guard Waterford, CT Second Term – Military
Toni Hauser, CEM Supervisor, Emergency Preparedness & Response Minneapolis Health Department Minneapolis, MN First Term – Healthcare
Bryon Platt, CEM University Emergency Manager University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM First Term – Campus
Michael Riedy, CEM Installation Emergency Manager (EMO) Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (US Navy Civilian) Kailua, HI Second Term – Federal
Tom Smith, CEM EM, Retired Smith Emergency Management Associates Upper Marlboro, MD First Term – Academia and Federal
Michael Stitley, CEM Director of Emergency Response Tompkins Co. Dept. of Emergency Response Burdett, NY First Term – Healthcare
Billy Anderson, CEM Sr. Emergency Management Specialist Sound Transit Seattle, WA First Term – Local
David Bujak, CEM Senior Planner IEM Cortland, OH First Term – Campus
Billy (B.J.) Dvorak, CEM Coordinator Linn County Emergency Management Cedar Rapids, IA Second Term – At-Large
Peter Hirai, CEM Emergency Management Specialist U.S. Marine Corps Installations - Pacific FPO, AP Second Term – Military
William Hurtes, CEM Owner HTC International Richmond, VA First Term – Consultant/Not-for-Profit
Douglas Mayne, CEM Senior Consultant, Disaster Management Witt O'Brien's LLC Olympia, WA Second Term – Military & State
Ralph Nazzaro, CEM Senior Homeland Security Analyst Ascenttra Annandale, VA First Term – Healthcare
Michelle Oblinsky, CEM Chief of the VEST Virginia Department of Emergency Management North Chesterfield, VA Second Term – State
Ross Patterson, CEM Emergency Management Coordinator Winston Salem/Forsyth County Emergency Management Winston Salem, NC Second Term – Not-for-profit
Michael Ripley, CEM Santa Clarita, CA Second Term – At-Large
Jon Fessler, CEM VP of Environment, Health and Safety Fox Corporation Los Angeles, CA Second Term – Private Industry
Jason Higginbotham, CEM, LEM Chief of Security Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans New Orleans, LA Second Term – Academia
Sean Holland, CEM Manager, Airport Operations Center – JFK The Port Authority of NY & NJ, John F. Kennedy International Airport Hampton, NJ First Term – State
Thomas Ignelzi, CEM Program Manager Securing the Cities Program - New Orleans Region Belle Chasse, LA First Term – Local EM
Lanita Lloyd, CEM GA Director The Salvation Army Villa Rica, GA First Term – Non-Profit
Alexander Markowski, CEM Director of Crisis Management and Business Continuity Fanatics, Inc. Brooklyn, NY Second Term – Private Industry
Sarah Miller, CEM Assistant Professor/Department Chair Pierce College Auburn, WA First Term – Consultant
Gary Teeler, CEM Captain - Public Safety Support Services Lower Colorado River Authority San Marcos, TX First Term – Non-Profit
Libby Turner, CEM Turner Associates, LLC Lawrenceville, GA First Term – Federal
IAEM-Africa Representative Open
IAEM-Asia Representative Kyoo-Man Ha, CEM Adjunct Professor Inje University Changwon, Gyeongnam, South Korea First Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-Canada Representative David Day, CEM Manager, Emergency and Safety Services City of St. John's St. John's, NL Canada First Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-Canada Alternate Representative Jennifer Smysnuik, CEM Manager Emergency Management City of Toronto OEM Toronto, ON M3C 3N3 Canada Second Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-Canada Alternate Representative
Danielle Trudeau, CEM, ABCP, MDMa Executive Director TopShelf Emergency Management Toronto, ON Canada First Term (completing term 12/31/2026)
IAEM-Europa Representative George Karagiannis, CEM Risk and Resilience Director International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure Patra, Greece First Term (completing term 12-31-2025)
IAEM-International Representative Open
IAEM Latin America and Caribbean Representative Open
IAEM-Middle East Representative Open
IAEM-Oceania Representative Christopher Ainsworth, CEM, MBA Executive Officer - Principal Emergency Management - Business Continuity 'raemec' austraia / KP3 Collaboration Blackwood, SA, Australia Second Term (completing term 12-31-2026)
NEMA Representative Open
FEMA Representative Tony Russell, CEM Superintendent Center for Domestic Preparedness Anniston, AL
Board Liaison Valerie Lucus-McEwen IAEM-USA Region 8 President Saint George, Ut IAEMRegion8President@iaem.com
Staff Liaison Kate McClimans Program Manager International Association of Emergency Managers 201 Park Washington Court Falls Church, VA 22046-4527 (703) 538-1795 kate@iaem.com
IAEM® and CEM® are registered trademarks of the International Association of Emergency Managers.