The Washington Disaster Resiliency work group, created out of SSB 5106 (leg.wa.gov), is tasked with providing a recommendation by Dec. 1, 2020 to legislators and the governor on whether the state needs a permanent disaster resiliency program.
Find important information about meetings, deadlines, and assignments for the work group here.
Washington Disaster Resiliency work group member organizations and their representatives
- Office of the Insurance Commissioner (chair): Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler; Chief Deputy Commissioner AnnaLisa Gellermann (alternate)
- Indian tribe east of the Cascades: TBD
- Shoalwater Bay Tribe: Lee Shipman
- House Republican Caucus: Rep. Matt Shea
- House Democratic Caucus: Rep. Cindy Ryu
- Senate Republican Caucus: Sen. Lynda Wilson
- Senate Democratic Caucus: Sen. Mona Das
- Washington Military Department: Robert Ezelle
- Department of Natural Resources: Corina Forson
- Superintendent of Public Instruction: Evan Gaffey
- Department of Transportation: Keith Metcalf; Marshall Elizer (alternate)
- Department of Ecology: Jason Norberg
- Department of Commerce: Tristan Allen
- Department of Agriculture: Randy Treadwell
- Resilient Washington Subcommittee: Stacey McClain
- State Conservation Commission: Alison Halpern
- State Building Code Council: Phillip Lemley
- Association of Washington Cities: Barb Graff
- Association of Washington Counties: Gene Strong
- Washington Association of Building Officials: Jon Siu
- Building Industry Association of Washington: Rick Hjelm
- Emergency and Transitional Housing: Rachael Myers
- Public Utility Districts: Matt Stevie
- Water and Sewer Districts: Tom Keown
- Commission on Hispanic Affairs: María Sigüenza
- Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs: Toshiko Hasegawa; Nam Nguyen (alternate)
- Commission of African American Affairs: Ed Prince
- Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs: Craig Bill
- Insurance Industry: Swiss RE - Alex Kaplan, Serena Sowers (alternate), David BurtonPerry (alternate)
- Insurance Industry: Liberty Mutual - Melanie Smith
Washington Disaster Resiliency work group assignments
The Washington Disaster Resiliency work group will submit information, links and documents using the work group's secure form:
Members of the public are invited to submit information related to assignments for the work group through the secure public submission form:
The Washington Disaster Resiliency work group has been giving the following assignments:
Submission period: July 15 - Aug. 23
- Assignment #1: What are the disaster resilience activities your entity is currently doing in Washington state?
- Assignment #2: Submit a summary of your entity's roles and responsibilities in disaster mitigation and recovery activities. Who must you coordinate with? What are your current barriers from fully realizing your long term resiliency plans?
- Review period: Aug. 24 - Sept. 4
Submission period: Sept. 6 - Oct. 11
- Assignment #3: Please submit important efforts the work group should review regarding disaster resiliency activities in other states.
- Additional assignment: What other states have as an ongoing state resiliency program and how do they function? This assignment will be completed in collaboration by the Emergency Management Division and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. A report will be provided to the work group.
- Review period: Oct. 12 - Oct. 29
Submission period: Oct. 31 - Nov. 29
- Assignment #4: What types of activities should an ongoing state resiliency program engage in?
- Review period: Nov. 30 - Dec. 15
Submission: Dec. 17 - April 15
- Assignment #5: What types of coordination should ongoing state resiliency program engage in with state agencies and other entities?
- Review period: April 16 - TBD
Washington Disaster Resiliency work group meetings
Sept. 5, 2019
- Time: 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Location: Capitol Event Center, 6005 Tyee Drive SW, Tumwater, WA 98512
- Confirmed speakers: Lieutenant Russel L. Honoré, USA, Retired, Corina Forson, Dr. Amy Snover, Brian Lynn, Jeff Marti, Gary Bahr, George Geissler, and Dan Stonington
- View documents and links associated with this work group meeting
Oct. 30, 2019
- Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Location: Capitol Event Center, 6005 Tyee Drive SW, Tumwater, WA 98512
- Confirmed speakers: Robert Freitag, Director of University of Washington's Institute for Hazards Mitigation; topic is "What is a resilient community?"
- Agenda: TBD
Dec. 16, 2019
- Time: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Location: Capitol Event Center, 6005 Tyee Drive SW, Tumwater, WA 98512
- Confirmed speakers: TBD; topic is "How should a resiliency program coordinate with public and private entities?"
- Agenda: TBD
January 2020 to April 2020
- Legislative session break
May 2020
- Time: TBD
- Location: TBD
- Confirmed speakers: TBD; topic is "What authority level should a resiliency program have and where should it be housed?"
- Agenda: TBD
July 2020
- Time: TBD
- Location: TBD
- Confirmed speakers: TBD; topic is "How should an ongoing resiliency program be funded?"
- Agenda: TBD
September 2020
- Work group deliberates final recommendations.
November 2020
- Work group finalizes report to the governor and Legislature.