EMAC Support to Kentucky – 2021 Tornado Response and Recovery

This presentation will provide the experiences of four emergency management staff who deployed to Kentucky under EMAC in support of tornado response and recovery operations in December 2021. Information will touch upon the areas of the EMAC process, Public Assistance and Individual Assistance

Guy Gierhart

Operations Support Chief, SCEMD

Guy Gierhart is the Operations Support Chief at the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. He has been an EMAC Advance Team member since 2016 and coordinated 97 EMAC missions for South Carolina. This includes EMAC missions requested by South Carolina and EMAC missions sending South Carolina resources to other states. Guy deployed to Kentucky as an EMAC Advance Team Leader during a December 2021 tornado outbreak in Kentucky.

Allison Volk

Public Assistance Operations Coordinator, SCEMD

Allison Volk is the Public Assistance (PA) Operations Coordinator with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. She has been with PA program since July 2017, starting as a Specialist and moving up to a Coordinator in March of 2020. While at SCEMD, Allison worked in the Situation Unit in the State Emergency Operations Center for 4 disasters and participated in 7 disasters throughout various parts of the disaster life cycle. Allison deployed to Kentucky as an EMAC PA Deputy during the December 2021 tornado outbreak. She is a Licensed Master of Social Work graduate from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi College.

Jessica Jones

Public Assistance Program Manager, SCEMD

Jessica Jones is the Public Assistance Program Manager (Recovery and Mitigation) at the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD). She has over five years of experience working with FEMA’s Public Assistance grant and leads a team that manages over $1.7 billion in disaster recovery funding for state and local governments.

Meredith Burns

Individual Assistance Officer, SCEMD

Meredith Burns is the Individual Assistance Officer at the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. In this role she supports the delivery of federal assistance programs to disaster survivors and works with voluntary organizations to coordinate recovery resources. Meredith holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina.