September 2022

Christina Finch 2002

DEGREES:
B.S. - Geography
Henson

CURRENT EMPLOYER
Federal Emergency Management Agency

CURRENT OCCUPATION
National Hurricane Program Manager

DESCRIBE YOUR CAREER PATH
On my career path, I have worked across a variety of emergency management phases (planning, mitigation, response, recovery) and a range of stakeholders (state, federal, international) with the same goal: to inform data-driven decision-making. There are two distinct experience areas I would highlight: academic research and federal service. I discovered the field of geography and geographic information systems (GIS) while at Salisbury University. I learned how much “place matters” and I was interested in how you could use GIS to better understand our communities. I attended a seminar on hazards and disasters and decided to pursue that topic further at the University of South Carolina Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute.
My academic research area focused on the generation of a composite metric of social vulnerability to identify spatial disparities in the ability to prepare, respond, cope and recover from hazards and disasters. My academic background provided a solid foundation for my practitioner roles in emergency management. I deployed with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help support the response to the 2004 hurricane season where four hurricanes impacted the state of Florida in a single season. I continued to support FEMA field deployments with GIS analytics for mitigation projects for more than two years, including Hurricane Katrina. I also have spent more than 10 years at FEMA headquarters. I worked across a number of programs in the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration in resilience: the Flood Hazard Mapping Program that supports the National Flood Insurance Program, mitigation planning, building science, National Dam Safety Program, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, and the Natural Hazards Risk Assessment Program. Depending on the role, I supported these programs with data analytics, communication and marketing, disaster operations, risk assessment, program management, senior leadership coordination, grant oversight, and/or strategic planning.
Currently, I am the program manager for the National Hurricane Program (NHP). The NHP provides technical assistance to local, state, tribal, territorial and federal government partners, focusing on hurricane evacuation and response, spanning from steady-state deliberate planning to operational decision support and crisis planning when hurricanes threaten the United States and its territories. The NHP is an interagency partnership, administered by the FEMA with significant contributions from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center.

MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU LEARNED WHILE ATTENDING SALISBURY UNIVERSITY
The most important thing I learned while at Salisbury University was to be brave – embrace new opportunities and experiences and be comfortable with exploring the unknown. As an incoming freshman, I had very little idea about a major and even less certainty on a career path. I had a general interest in science, math and art. As I fulfilled the General Education requirements, I tried to take diverse courses in different departments – this is how I found the Department of Geography and Geosciences. I started with the foundational courses, physical geography and human geography, understanding how the environment and our social community constructs interact. The emerging use of GIS provided a powerful analytic tool to investigate outcomes and spatial patterns. Cartography, the art and science of creating maps, even enabled me to use my interest in art to develop visual storytelling tools. While I had no idea initially what you could do with a career in geography, I discovered that this field encompassed all of my interests. By trying something new and walking the path less traveled, I discovered a field and career that keeps things interesting and exciting every day.

WHAT CAMPUS ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS WERE YOU INVOLVED WITH?
I loved campus life and lived on campus for three of my four years at Salisbury University. I was involved in many activities and organizations, but two stand out in my memory. As an incoming freshman, I participated in the New Student Orientation Outdoor Program. A couple weeks before fall semester started about of dozen new freshman banded together for a Maine cycling adventure. (I initially signed up hoping for the canoe trip, so it was a quite a challenge! I didn’t even own a bike before the trip.) The next 10 days were amazing – we cycled from small town to small town, we biked (some of us walked) up Cadillac Mountain, swam in a rock quarry and the Atlantic Ocean, spent nights under the stars, in tents, and around bonfires – and most importantly, created bonds so on move-in day we already recognized friends and familiar faces. I also participated in a freshman orientation cohort where a group of students participated in all the same classes (English, history, and music appreciation) and had the same elective: Arts in Civilization. The professors worked together to weave the course themes together and provide unique out-of-the-classroom opportunities. We went to a Romeo and Juliet opera and spent a day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both of these experiences, outdoor program and the arts in civilization elective, provided new adventures, friends and learning opportunities that were unique to my Salisbury University experience.

BEST COLLEGE MEMORY
The geography cohort was a really close community. I spent a lot of time with my peers and the professors. My best memories I have are of the people: hanging out in Devilbiss Hall, chats between classes, happy hours at the bowling alley, gathering in the GIS lab post-9/11 because we didn’t quite know what to do or where to be, white-water rafting/hiking/camping in West Virginia, and last-minute cramming for paper/project deadlines. While many of us went different directions after undergraduate, I value the shared experience we had while at Salisbury University.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SALISBURY UNIVERSITY?
I am local to the Eastern Shore, born and raised in Pocomoke, MD, just 30 minutes south of Salisbury. Salisbury University was a perfect fit for me – it provided both wings and roots. On campus and in the Geography and Geosciences Department, in particular, I felt like I had entered into a whole new world of learning experiences and people. But my home and family were always close by, if needed.

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE SALISBURY UNIVERSITY IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE AND WHY?
Community. Opportunity. Foundation.
Salisbury University has an engaged and active community. There are so many opportunities at the University to learn something new, try something different and expand your network. Salisbury University provides a solid foundation for future career paths.

FAVORITE VACATION SPOT AND WHY?
In my job, I spend a lot of time on the computer and working in stressful situations. I appreciate a vacation where I can disconnect and be outside. One of my favorite vacations is when my wife and I rented a campervan and went on a road trip in California – San Francisco, Point Reyes National Seashore, camping in state parks, driving the Pacific Coast Highway, Redwood National Park, hiking, Lassen Volcano National Park and Napa Valley wine tours. We have already planned our next campervan trip! It is a great way to slow down and enjoy our beautiful country. We have set a goal to visit all 63 of the National Parks!

GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT
Thus far in my career, I have accomplished achievements I could never have dreamed about as an undergraduate student. In graduate school, I published articles in professional journals and finished a master’s thesis. I have taught training sessions to diverse audiences on a wide range of topics. I have traveled to new places for business and leisure. I have met countless friends and colleagues along the way. I was recognized as an employee who exemplifies FEMA Core Values: compassion, integrity, respect and fairness. I have supported emergency management programs that help communities plan, prepare, respond and recover. I manage a program and team that develops tools and training that supports emergency managers who make life-saving decisions. But most importantly, I have a passion for public service and a job that I am proud of, ultimately helping people before, during and after disasters.

WHAT IS SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I had a part-time job with the Mapping Sciences Group (pre-cursor to Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative) while I was at Salisbury University. This internship provided an opportunity to get applicable GIS job experience while I was still a student. Most people don’t know about the work I conducted during this internship. As part of an early GIS effort to map roadways, the team drove all the roadways on the Eastern Shore. Armed with a Salisbury University car, a mounted Global Positioning System (GPS) unit, a trusted colleague, composition notebooks and a road atlas, we drove every road, from beginning to end, in the Lower Shore counties. Technology has come a long way since that project, but I never take the road network on Google maps for granted!

HOBBIES/OTHER INTERESTS
Emergency management brings together a diversity of disciplines – first responders, military experience, geography, sociology, physical science and the list goes on. As I continue on my career journey, I want to encourage others to think about careers in emergency management. In addition, I want to continue to increase diversity in the next generation of emergency managers. Encouraging girls to pursue careers in science and technology. Emergency managers should reflect the diversity of the communities that we serve.