Digital Event

Diversity and Inclusion

In Whole-Community Disaster Management

Watch On-Demand

GET IN ON THE ACTION

The Webinar

When disasters strike, they create tragedy for all people. However, in their aftermath, those with the fewest resources and least support suffer most. Emergencies may not create structural inequities, but in the absence of intentional planning, they have the most devastating, long-lasting impact on underserved populations, amplifying their divide from broader society.

The emergency response community has the opportunity to ensure that the diverse resource needs of each are integral to every phase of disaster management. Join Merit for an expert panel discussion with industry leaders and practitioners of whole-community equitable solutions as they think through modern approaches to challenges such as:

Whose voices need to be heard during preparedness and mitigation?
How can emergency managers respond with equity to the underserved?
Where does recovery disparity occur and what does it look like?
Which cost-recovery solutions help bring resources to high-needs neighborhoods?
What is sensitive, successful whole-community communication?

Chauncia Willis

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management

Chauncia Willis is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM). Ms. Willis is certified as an Emergency Manager, Professional Coach, and Cultural Diversity Professional with over 20 years of experience. Her expertise includes disaster management, national security event planning, leadership coaching, immigrant and refugee outreach, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion training. Prior to co-founding I-DIEM, Chauncia served as the Emergency Manager in Tampa, Florida for over 14 years where she developed successful programs benefiting marginalized populations. She has led national emergency planning efforts for political conventions, national football league games and international award shows. In her role as CEO for I-DIEM, she leads the effort to integrate equity into all facets of disaster policy, programs, and practice with the goal of increasing cultural competence and mitigating the harmful impacts of bias on underserved groups. Regarded as a national expert, Ms. Willis has provided witness testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on multiple occasions on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as policy implementation. She is the author of “Stretching: The Race towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in America,” published December 2020.