Meet the 2023 Keynote Speakers |
Ken Graham is the Director of NOAA's National Weather Service and is the Assistant Administrator for Weather Services at NOAA. In this role, he is responsible for the day-to-day civilian weather operations for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas.
Prior to becoming the 17th NWS Director on June 7, 2022, he served as the director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, leading the nation through numerous hurricanes, including 30 named storms during the record-breaking 2020 hurricane season. His tireless energy to build effective partnerships at all levels of government and his close work with emergency managers underpin the nation’s preparedness ahead of hazardous weather.
During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, Graham led the cooperative intergovernmental engagement effort for NWS in the region and sustained Emergency Response Meteorologist deployments for more than five months while issuing more than 4,300 Spot Forecasts. His office received the National Weather Association’s Operational Meteorology Award, Department of Commerce Gold Medal for Decision Support Services, and was the National Weather Museum’s Meteorologist of the Year for his support during the oil spill.
Dr. Randal “Randy” Collins, CEM, serves as the President for the All-Hazards Incident Management Teams Association, an organization dedicated to inspiring excellence in incident management, and is co-founder of FRAEM – the Foundation for the Research and Advancement of Emergency Management.
He has served in emergency management positions at the state, county, and municipal levels, and within nonprofit and private sectors. He was the Emergency Manager for El Segundo, CA, the National Director of the American Humane Animal Rescue program, and an emergency manager with Southern California Edison.
Dr. Collins will facilitate a journey through the roles and responsibilities of emergency management directors as change agents, and on adapting your communities and the discipline of emergency management for the challenges ahead. Visit Dr. Collins on LinkedIn @ Randal-Collins.