Recap: The Future of Emergency Management: A Conversation with Pete Gaynor

Forerunner recently hosted a conversation with Peter Gaynor, former FEMA Administrator and current President of Bright Harbor, on the future of disaster management amid FEMA reform, workforce pressures, and the shifting balance of federal, state, local, and private-sector roles. Through his work at Bright Harbor, Pete now focuses on supporting communities and residents as they prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Pete began by highlighting the role of the private sector in emergency management, noting that a lot of the nation’s true disaster-response capacity lies outside government. Through the Disaster Recovery Coalition of America, Pete and its 56 member organizations are working to provide Congress and the FEMA Council with practical recommendations for simplifying a recovery system that is complex and expensive. 

A central theme of the discussion was FEMA’s workforce. Although FEMA is often described as a 20,000-person agency, only about 5,000 of those are full-time federal employees, and recent departures have heightened risks, particularly as disasters grow more complex. With these staffing shifts, Pete predicts that more responsibility will fall to states and localities. While this has created uncertainty, especially around grants and staffing, he noted that COVID-19 demonstrated strong local capacity and leadership. He encouraged jurisdictions to assess their capabilities now and prepare for multiple scenarios as they await the FEMA recommendations. 

In the context of resilience and mitigation, Pete encouraged communities to think beyond large federal grants. He highlighted low-cost, high-impact projects, such as small drainage improvements that significantly reduced flooding. Pete also stressed the importance of pre-disaster contracts, which secure critical resources before an event and help jurisdictions avoid national competition during crises. Building resilience each day, he shared, is both possible and necessary. 

In closing, Pete affirmed that emergency managers remain indispensable to national resilience. Regardless of how federal reforms unfold, he urged state and local officials to understand their own capacity, plan for multiple scenarios, and communicate the value of their programs to elected leaders. Change is coming, he noted, bringing both opportunity and risk - making strong local leadership more important than ever.

The webinar can be viewed below:

Want to build on the insights from the webinar? Forerunner helps communities plan smarter, respond faster, and recover stronger - all in one platform. From streamlining damage assessments to managing debris and coordinating team operations, Forerunner turns complex recovery work into a coordinated response. Request a demo or reach out to hello@withforerunner.com - we’d love to connect.