Executive Officers – SCEMA Online

President
Past President
President Elect
Secretary
Treasurer

Kristy Burch

Kristy Burch is the Florence County Emergency Manager where she has been employed for 24 years. Kristy also currently serves on the Pee Dee Healthcare Coalition Executive Committee as the Vice-Chair and is the South Carolina Advisory Council representative for her region. She is a member of the county’s Emergency Response Team and has served as a Finance Section Chief on one of the state’s four regional Incident Management Teams. She is also a past Treasurer with the South Carolina Emergency Management Association. Kristy graduated from Anderson University with her B.S. in Emergency Services Management and is currently attending Lander University to obtain her Master of Science in Emergency Management. She also is a South Carolina Certified Emergency Manager. Kristy currently lives in Florence with her husband, Chris. They have four grown children and five grandchildren.

Erik Hayes

Erik Hayes retired after twenty-five years of service with Sumter County, SC in October 2021. Mr. Hayes was the Emergency Management Director and Risk Manager for Sumter County for 9 years. Mr. Hayes is a South Carolina Certified Emergency Manager and has an Associates degree with the University of South Carolina. Mr. Hayes was a certified law enforcement officer with the Sumter Sheriff’s Office and a volunteer firefighter with Sumter Fire. He currently resides in Sumter, South Carolina.

Brandon Ellis

Brandon Ellis is the Director of Emergency Services for Georgetown County, South Carolina where he oversees the Georgetown County Emergency Management Department, Georgetown County Fire EMS and Midway Fire Rescue. Prior to joining Georgetown County, he served nearly 5 years as a Regional Emergency Manager for the South Carolina Emergency Management Division where he oversaw regional operations in 8 counties throughout the low country. Mr. Ellis began his public safety career in 2004 as a firefighter before being named the Director of Emergency Management for Marion County, South Carolina in 2009. Mr. Ellis is a 2008 graduate of Francis Marion University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science. He currently resides in Pawleys Island, South Carolina with his wife and two young daughters.

Melissa Allen

Kimberly Bailey

Kimberly Bailey is the System Emergency Manager for the Medical University Hospital Authority at MUSC located in Charleston, South Carolina, overseeing 14 hospitals within four divisions across the state. She holds a Master’s Degree in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from Arizona State University and is a South Carolina State Certified Emergency Manager. Kimberly sits on the Executive Leadership Board for the South Carolina Emergency Management Association and is an Academic Associate Professor teaching for Arizona State’s Emergency Management Master’s program. She is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and an Ancillary Author for Jones and Bartlett, writing content related to the use of simulation in the pre-hospital care environment. In her previous role as the State Infectious Disease Planner and Training Manager for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, she coordinated several state and local exercises related to general all hazards within emergency management and hospital related safety issues.