Disaster Response Reform Task Force
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Every year millions of Americans’ lives are upended by increasingly catastrophic weather events and natural disasters. Such devastating hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and more highlight the challenges the federal government faces in responding effectively—both in terms of immediate response and long-term recovery efforts.
BPC’s Disaster Response Reform Task Force is a group of emergency management experts with diverse experiences from prior roles across government. These leaders understand what is needed to fix our disaster response system. First launched in April 2020, this bipartisan task force is working to:
- Offer expertise and technical assistance on the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on disaster relief and recovery programs
- Identify and confront the barriers to providing critical aid to communities in crisis
- Raise the profile around needed disaster assistance reforms
- Provide an authoritative knowledge base for informed debate
- Create an understanding and urgency around needed reforms
- Develop actionable policy recommendations and advocate for their adoption
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Task Force Members:
Kevin Bush | Principal, Resilient Infrastructure, Cadmus Group; Former HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs and District of Columbia Chief Resilience Officer
Jeffrey Byard | Vice President of Operations, Team Rubicon; Former FEMA Associate Administrator
Pete Gaynor (Task Force Co-Chair) | Senior Vice President and Director of National Resilience, Response and Recovery Programs, GEI Consultants; Former FEMA Administrator
Fernando Gil-Enseñat | Principal, FGE LLC; Former Puerto Rico Secretary of Housing
Stan Gimont | Senior Advisor for Community Recovery, Hagerty Consulting; Former HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary
Jennifer Gray Thompson | CEO, After the Fire USA
Pamela Hughes Patenaude (Task Force Co-Chair) | Board Member, BPC; Former HUD Deputy Secretary
Bryan Koon | Vice President of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, IEM; Former Florida Director of Emergency Management
Reese May | Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, SBP
Ben Metcalf | Managing Director, Terner Center, University of California-Berkeley; Former Director, California Department of Housing and Community Development
Neal Rackleff | Attorney at Law, Rackleff LLP; Former HUD Assistant Secretary
Chauncia Willis | Co-Founder and CEO, Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management
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