Jan. 19, 2015
Evan W. Schumann (BS '94, MS '96 Civ Egr) was named executive director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency
(EMA) on Jan. 8, 2015.
Schumann had been the program manager for Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF1), which is the State of Ohio’s Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Task Force. Stationed in Dayton, it is also one of the 28 US&R Task Forces in FEMA’s National US&R System.
“The State of Ohio is fortunate to be able to find an emergency management professional with Mr. Schumann’s qualifications here in our own state,” said Ohio Department of Public Safety Director John Born. “I look forward to working with him to make the state safer for all Ohioans.”
Schumann holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Norwich University, and earned two civil engineering degrees from Michigan State University - a bachelor’s degree in 1994 and a master’s degree in 1996.
Schumann said his civil engineering preparation fits perfectly in an emergency management role.
“The type of education you get with a civil engineering degree helps you develop an orderly progression of thought and detail,” Schumann said. “My time studying engineering at MSU was not just about putting numbers into equations and producing an answer. Rather we were challenged by our professors to analyze the impact to the design – building, pavement, foundation, traffic flow, water flow, etc. – of a change in one or two variables in the equation. What did a change the variable mean in the real world? Extending this critical thought process to emergency situations, emergency management, organizational development/management is how I have applied my engineering degree since leaving the practice of engineering.”
Among his duties, Schumann will be furthering the implementation of ODPS’s 4/72 Project that provides basic life needs for people impacted by a disaster within four hours of the incident and sustainable for 72 hours. He will also work with the Safer Ohio Teams concept to coordinate emergency response by local and state responders.
“In many ways, it’s like building a building but instead you are building an organization. It provides a chance to put your project management experiences to good use,” he added.
Under Mr. Schumann’s leadership, OH-TF1 personnel have responded to many disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the Haiti earthquake, mudslides in Washington and flooding in Colorado. He is well versed in all aspects of state and national emergency management systems.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency is the state’s coordinating agency for emergency response throughout the state. In the event of an emergency anywhere in the state, EMA can assemble state agencies at its headquarters near Columbus and coordinate assets available through these agencies in order to get supplies, personnel and equipment where it is needed in a timely manner.
