Putting on the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Director vest for the first time can be a daunting experience. Even for an experienced emergency manager, leading an EOC response presents challenges, uncertainties, and carries a lot of responsibility. For an organizational leader who is not a professional emergency manager, those challenges are amplified. This session isn’t about the Incident Command System, or EOC forms and tools, or even submitting Expenditure Authorizations to EMBC. Instead, we’ll focus on some of the skills that help EOC leaders guide their staff and organizations through an emergency event with professionalism and empathy. If you are already a leader in your organization, you might be surprised at how prepared you already are!
Ryan Wainwright is a career emergency manager with an Applied Bachelor’s in Disaster and Emergency Studies. Before joining EMBC in 2019 as the Sr. Regional Manager for the Vancouver Island region, he worked in EOCs across the country with the federal government and spent almost 10 years as the Emergency Program Manager and EOC Director for the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District. After 20 years away, Ryan once again calls Victoria home, and when not at work you are most likely to find him outside enjoying what the Island has to offer. He also has an impossibly cute dog that you can follow on Instagram @thisisroke.