What Human Services Leaders Can Learn from Emergency Managers

Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell spent four years leading federal disaster response. In that time, she saw which state and local agencies were ready when disruption hit. The difference rarely came down to resources. It came down to whether leaders had thought in advance about how their systems would need to flex, who they'd need to reach, and how to make use of what they were already working with. This fireside chat brings Deanne into conversation with Brittany Christenson, CEO of AidKit, to share that perspective with human services leaders directly. The session will explore what it looks like to build programs with disruption in mind: not a separate emergency system, but a flexible approach to eligibility, intake, and data that remains adaptable as circumstances change. The conversation draws on real program examples showing what that adaptability looks like in practice, and what it takes to get there without rebuilding from scratch. For human services leaders managing more complexity in the face of disruption, this session offers a concrete new way to think about the infrastructure they're already running.