The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority received a \u201cgold seal\u201d in January to become \u00a0the first airport operation to earn full accreditation by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmergency management is essential in the aviation world,\u201d says Keila Walker-Denis \u201907<\/strong>, assistant director of airport operations in emergency management for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which oversees Orlando International Airport and Orlando Executive Airport. \u201cWe demonstrated that we have a sound foundation for an emergency-management program.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker-Denis, whose background is in emergency management, says the process was an opportunity to take the airport where it needed to be, especially now in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. \u201cThis event has further highlighted the importance of communication, cooperation, coordination and collaboration,\u201d she says. The accreditation program used 64 industry standards to determine the top rating.<\/p>\n Her industry contacts \u2014 such as Osceola County Emergency Management, Orlando Health, Florida\u2019s State Medical Response Team, the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange, and the Incident Management Team for Central Florida \u2014 have proven valuable in her current role.<\/p>\n ‘We may not be the experts in any one area, but we know a lot about everything and where to get resources.’ \u2014 Keila Walker-Denis<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cWe may not be the experts in any one area, but we know a lot about everything and where to get resources,\u201d Walker-Denis says.<\/p>\n The airport authority\u2019s emergency management team has been assigned with tasks such as collecting and analyzing information related to COVID-19; ensuring personal protective equipment is provided to necessary employees; supporting local, state and federal executive orders; and a host of other responsibilities to maintain the safety, health and wellbeing of employees and passengers, Walker-Denis says.<\/p>\n Beyond the coronavirus, her role always includes a lot of planning and preparing, ensuring all teams and decision-makers at the airports work together effectively and communicate the same message.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we identify what hazards we are prone to, the goal first is to try and prevent them. And if we can\u2019t prevent them, the next step is to identify how to mitigate or lessen the impact to our operations,\u201d Walker-Denis says. \u201cOf course, our ultimate goal is to keep flying.\u201d<\/p>\n Before her career in emergency management, Walker-Denis started at 麻豆原创 in the business program but switched to major in public administration because she was intrigued by the process that went into decision making during emergencies, such as for hurricanes when she was a child in Miami.<\/p>\n During an internship with the Osceola County Emergency Management Department, she participated in emergency operations during tropical storm Ernesto in 2006. Witnessing the controlled chaos of agencies, community stakeholders and departments coming together \u201cignited that passion, that flame,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all opened my eyes and ignited the fire I had back then to do what I do today. It\u2019s truly a passion. It\u2019s the best thing. It\u2019s a very rewarding career field, mentally and emotionally, knowing that you\u2019re able to make a change.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker-Denis also serves on 麻豆原创\u2019s emergency-management advisory board, which helps ensure 麻豆原创 courses teach up-to-date content and expose students to the realities of the emergency management world beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone did it for me when I was in college, as far as that internship,\u201d says Walker-Denis. \u201cIt opened my eyes, and I want to do the same. It feels right to do the same, to pay that forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Public administration graduate assists aviation authority to earn \u2018gold seal\u2019 in preparedness and crisis management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":109302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15992,5],"tags":[21846,3821,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-109217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-colleges","tag-emergency-management","tag-public-administration","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\n