1. What is a Profession?

2. Characteristics of an Emergency Manager The Stereotype  White, male, limited college education  Emergency management is second or third career  Job obtained other than with emergency management knowledge, skills or abilities  Disaster response planning oriented  Works primarily with emergency services  Bureaucratic  Never conducted a risk assessment, or developed a mitigation plan or a strategic plan  Knowledge base is experiential  Never reads professional journals nor joins professional associations  Frequently wears other hats  Not well paid or well funded  Many part-time and volunteer positions

3. “ Does the stereotype of emergency managers give an impression that emergency management is a ‘professional’ field?” “What is needed to decrease peoples’ thinking that emergency managers fit the stereotype described above?” “What events have prompted the shift to a more ‘professional’ field of emergency management?”

4. Characteristics of an Emergency Manager The ‘New Generation’  College education in emergency management or a closely related field  Has taken emergency management training courses  Professional and knowledgeable  Knowledge base: science and research  Technologically proficient  Younger  Emergency management is career of first choice  Building disaster resistant communities focus  Proactive  Lifelong learner – reads disaster literature  Plans with jurisdiction stakeholders  Better paid and better funding for emergency management programs  Upwardly and geographically mobile

5. “ Does emergency management fit our profile of a profession today?”