Q&A: Meet Amanda Drew, UM’s New Emergency Management Coordinator

Amanda Drew. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Communications

OXFORD, Miss. – Amanda Drew, who has worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and also as a firefighter in Massachusetts, became the University of Mississippi’s new emergency management coordinator Feb. 19. 

Drew, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts, was a FEMA applicant services programs specialist before coming to Ole Miss. She also previously held the position of head dispatcher and emergency management coordinator at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. 

She said Ole Miss seemed like the perfect fit for her because she wanted to work on a larger campus, and the town of Oxford also won her over on her visit here.

“Ole Miss is a flagship university; even with the size of the university, I could see what a close community it is,” Drew said. “There is something about college communities I enjoy. They are vibrant and a great environment to enhance my skills and knowledge as well as making a contribution to the university’s safety and preparedness.” 

Drew answered some questions for Inside Ole Miss to let the university community learn more about her role and the services her office provides.

IOM: Tell us a little about your background in emergency management.

Drew: My background in emergency management starts in the fire service. I was a volunteer and paid on-call firefighter for about 10 years, I started getting into emergency management about the time I finished my bachelor’s degree in 2013. I went on to complete my master’s and had the opportunity to work as the deputy emergency management director for a small town outside Worcester, Massachusetts.

Through my work as a campus police dispatcher at Assumption College I was given the opportunity to help with the campus emergency management. The work at Assumption included developing pre-plans, designing and facilitating trainings for the emergency response team, and I wrote a program design for a Community Emergency Response Team program.

Through both of these experiences, I worked very closely with city and state emergency management agencies. I took part in many training sessions offered by the state and coordinated efforts between the state and Assumption, as well as the town for which I was the EMD.

 

IOM: Tell us about your role with the university and what some of your new duties will be.

Drew: My role at the university is emergency management coordinator. Some of my duties will include comprehensive planning for the university and completing an analysis to be sure the plan meets the needs of the university. I will also be meeting with the Oxford fire chief, police chief and emergency manager, in addition to the county emergency manager to discuss the preparedness of the university and coordinate training, preparedness, response and recovery operations for incidents on campus.

I will be exploring different preparedness activities for students, staff and faculty to partake in, in addition to seeking out opportunities for them to volunteer and grow within the emergency management capacity.

 

IOM: What can we expect from the emergency management coordinator job with you at the helm?

Drew: The university can expect whole-community involvement! I believe in training and empowering the students, staff and faculty of Ole Miss in emergency management practices to help them prepare for emergencies.

The programing and skills will not only help the Ole Miss community on campus, but these life skills that can be taken off-campus to enhance their own communities. Training and programs will be interactive and engaging, community input and ideas will be encouraged to ensure the campus needs are met. Preparedness is a community effort.

 

IOM: Talk about some of the most critical aspects of responding to an emergency situation.

Drew: The best response to a critical incident begins with proper pre-planning and training. This preparedness goes beyond the emergency response team and includes the whole university community.

Teaching students and staff how to respond to an emergency will help during those critical moments before first responders arrive. During an incident, response must be timely, with priorities of life safety, incident stabilization and preservation of property.

Listening to directions from university officials is also a critical aspect; this will ensure we help the university community in the most safe and efficient manner. 

 

IOM: What are the keys to being safe during an emergency?

Drew: In the fire service, we have a saying, ‘Train like you work.’ Just like athletes need to practice and actors and actresses need to rehearse, safety needs to be planned and practiced in order to be successful.

Incorporating simple safety habits into everyday life will make them second nature during an emergency, when our ability to think clearly may be compromised. Some of the habits include knowing two ways out of buildings, checking surroundings and being observant to everything going on around you. 

During an emergency, it is imperative that all community members listen to the directions of campus police and follow these directions. Community members should also be observant to hazards that might be present during an emergency.

 

IOM: Tell us about what sort of services you will offer to faculty and staff.

Drew: I would like to see what services the university currently offers and what the staff and faculty would like to have offered.

My hope is to train the staff and faculty in leadership roles within the buildings they work in, should an emergency occur. I would like to look into offering volunteer opportunities to anyone that would like to participate in emergency management activities on the campus. Input will always be welcome.