Jacqueline McBride’s life has been defined by disasters. When she was a baby, neck-high waters forced her father to carry her over his head while evacuating during a devastating flash flood. Then in May 1963 as a preteen, McBride lost her father, a commercial fisherman, to the Delaware Bay.
Fast-forward to the future: While working for FEMA as a liaison to faith- and community-based organizations during the response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, McBride came to a realization. “When I was an infant with my father carrying me out and holding me above the water, it was sort of like a dedication to what my life would be,” she said. “Of course, I didn’t realize it at that age, but it wasn’t until then that I was given that epiphany — aha, wow! — to be blessed enough to come here with a purpose.”
Her realization in 2005 came — after more than 20 years of devotion to emergency management that began professionally in 1983 when she became the deputy director/coordinator of New Jersey’s Atlantic City Office of Emergency Management.
That position didn’t exist in civil service at the time, however, so she didn’t get the typical benefits package of a public servant. But McBride urged that the job be elevated into the public sector, even if it meant reassigning the job to another candidate based on test scores. Her supervisor contacted the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, which created a test for the position. She ranked the highest out of the applicants and worked in the office for 15 years.
Photo: Jacqueline McBride is a disaster assistance employee for FEMA Region II. In this photo she is with FEMA Region II Deputy Director Michael Moriarty.
That's how McBride sees challenges — as opportunities to use her knowledge and skills.
Her experience and grit served her well as acting deputy director/coordinator of Atlantic County Office of Emergency Management and facilitated her selection in 1995 to join FEMA. McBride served in FEMA’s External Affairs and Individual Assistance cadres and is currently a disaster assistance employee (DAE) for FEMA Region II.
“Without the women’s movement, the civil rights movement and social justice movement, a lot of us wouldn’t be at the place in time we are now in terms of the roles and positions we hold,” McBride said. “I stand on the shoulders of the people who have gone before me, and having parents who encouraged and demanded that we become educated and serve our community.”
Diversifying Emergency Management
McBride has been promoting diversity in the emergency management field since the ’80s. In 1984, the White House held a conference on women in fire services and emergency management, and she was in awe of the 100 or so women from across the country who convened to discuss issues related to their roles. The conference was one driver that pushed her to write a position paper to FEMA’s Office of Equal Rights 25 years ago. “My real purpose was to encourage recruitment and representation of women, persons with disabilities and, in particular, people of color as emergency managers,” she said. “And to make recommendations of how we could go about doing that with FEMA serving as the lead agency.”
Included in her recommendations were that FEMA build a relationship with the nation’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and set up mentoring programs to encourage students to enter the emergency management field. Since submitting the letter, McBride said some of her recommendations have materialized. While responding to four consecutive storms on the Atlantic Coast in 2004, McBride met Vincent Brown, a senior program specialist in FEMA’s Risk Analysis Division and the FEMA liaison to the White House HBCU Initiative.
After the storm season was over, Brown developed a project at FEMA headquarters to work with HBCUs and inform them about emergency management and mitigation. McBride joined the planning team and participated in the third workshop, which took place at Southern University. “That was another epiphany moment for me,” she said, “something that I had dreamed of and advocated for, and I was able to see it come to fruition.”
In continuing her quest for knowledge, McBride worked toward a doctorate in public administration in 1987 — but she wanted more. There weren’t any degree programs in emergency management at the time, so she got her public administration doctorate with a specialization in emergency management.
In 1990, McBride researched (by surveying members of the International Association of Emergency Managers) and completed the first emergency managers and leadership dissertation in the United States. “It focused on the leadership and the use of power that local emergency managers perceive that they have — and their roles in relationship to media, public officials, and administrative and litigation issues,” she said.
Of a Mind to Serve
McBride has been involved in response efforts to large-scale disasters still fresh in the public’s mind. In 1998, she responded to Hurricane Georges in Puerto Rico, which killed 206 people and caused $6 billion in damages. In 2001, she was part of the response to 9/11, which was “an experience no one will ever forget.” Because there was no available transportation, McBride drove with a group to New York City from New Jersey, and as they arrived in the city, they were met by empty streets and highways.
“I remember staying in north New Jersey overnight, and then the next day, driving and just saying, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.’” She was FEMA’s deputy coordinator and the field communications chief who coordinated field personnel.
During Katrina in 2005, McBride worked as the lead of community relations at a shelter in Kentucky run by the state and the American Red Cross. “What was rewarding about that experience was helping those people remain calm and giving them a sense of hope that this soon will be over and they will be able to return home.”
During the response, she took on any role necessary to help, whether that meant sweeping the floors or wheel chairing someone to the staging area to be transported home. “Just doing whatever needed to be done to make people’s lives comfortable away from home — that is what I call the servant attitude,” she said. “You don’t have to be the lead, you don’t have to be sitting behind a desk — sometimes the best service rendered is when you can work one-on-one with people to give them encouragement and hope.”
When representatives from FEMA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., descend on a disaster, they often work under the reign of DAEs, like McBride. “They’re the ones who make it happen out there,” Brown said, later adding, “She is maybe the most capable DAE I’ve ever come across.”
Embrace Your Community
McBride’s passion is to include faith- and community-based organizations in emergency management. She said emergency managers must have a pulse on their community — knowing where the diverse populations are located. Then they must start building relationships with community leaders and look beyond the mainstream organizations that likely have ties to national organizations. “We need to look at the grass-roots organizations because those persons from vulnerable populations do have barriers,” she said. “Some of it could be a disability in terms of preparing for, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating and preventing disasters.”
McBride recommended setting up training programs to inform the organizations how they can work with community volunteers. Adding a state, local or county official who serves as a liaison between the faith- and community-based organizations is another viable step. “Let’s look at Haiti: Your first responders are faith- and community-based organizations,” she said. “So it’s essential for us to educate, equip and empower these organizations so they can help the survivors in all phases of emergency management.”
She’s also worked with United Way in various capacities through the years, most recently to bring the faith-based communities into Atlantic County’s Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), said Fran Wise, director of community investment and partnerships for United Way of Atlantic County.
“We have a strong VOAD that brings together a lot of different entities in the community,” Wise said. “Sometimes people would reach out to their church looking for assistance after a disaster, so it’s a really great resource.”
Whether it’s in her everyday life or while working in the field, McBride said she wants to help develop the people around her. When working in a key position during disaster response, she tries to have someone else work her role for a day — allowing that person to get training during a disaster.
And for people interested in getting involved in emergency management, McBride recommended they find a mentor. Seek out all available training and learn everything about the trade, like enrolling in a qualifying degree program.
To work in the field also requires a spirit for service. McBride said there are situations that can cause a person’s heart to break, like loss of life or property, and people will look to the DAE for hope. Disaster response requires someone who is sincere and passionate. “We’re talking about people whose lives have been totally disrupted,” she said. “When you can walk up to someone and you can see and feel the pain from loss, whether it be of a loved one or all their personal possessions, and when you can take a tear or a frown and turn it into a smile, it’s all worth it.”
Friends and family members frequently ask why she does this line of work. “It’s because it’s my calling; it is my calling.”
Curriculum Vitae
Jacqueline McBride has held management and leadership positions during the response to the following large-scale disasters.1997 — Midwest Floods
1998 — Hurricane Georges, Puerto Rico
2001 — 9/11
2002 — Super Typhoon Pongsona, Guam
2004 — California Wildfires
2005 — Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
2008 — Midwest Floods
2008 — Hurricanes Gustav and Ike
