Kim Adkins, Readiness and Contingency Operations, operations chief for the Northwestern Division was recently recognized as 2014 Emergency Manager of the Year by the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters.
Her recognition as Emergency Manager of the Year spotlights her role as the Civil Emergency Program Manager for POD during day-to-day operations and in support of disaster response operations.
Adkins deployed twice in rapid succession and with short notice to serve under the National Response Framework as an ESF#3 (Emergency Support Function, Public Works and Engineering) assistant team leader in support of hurricane/typhoon response operations within POD’s area of operations.
Adkins also served as the lead planner for a 2014 Combined Response Mission Exercise in Alaska involving USACE, FEMA, and the State of Alaska.
“Kim is dedicated to promoting personal preparedness to the workforce and has independently developed several initiatives to enhance readiness across POD. Her efforts were vital to the success of the exercise,” said Brig. Gen Jeffrey Milhorn, Pacific Ocean Division commander.
She also deployed to provide support following the tornado in Joplin, Missouri in 2011; Hurricane Sandy on the U.S. East Coast in 2012; Hurricane Ana in Hawaii in 2014; Typhoon Vongfong in Guam in 2014, and Typhoon Dolphin in Guam in May 2015.
Adkins is not new to the Northwestern Division. She served as the division deployment coordination administrator from, 2009 to 2010, managing the deployment program supporting overseas contingency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and working with USACE Headquarters to develop policies and procedures for overseas contingency operations deployments, and managing recruiting activities across NWD to source critical fill positions.
Speaking about her career in emergency management, Adkins said, “Rick Goodell, the now retired Portland District Deputy Chief of Operations, was responsible for my initial foray into the Emergency Management profession 10 years ago; he provided mentoring and guidance and set me on the path to success.”
In 2010, she deployed to Afghanistan Engineer District, North, where she served three months as the program manager for Capacity Development, helping to build the engineering capacity of local nationals in Afghanistan. She was promoted to Chief of the Project Management Branch for the remaining six months of her tour where she provided oversight and supervision for $147 million in projects including Capacity Development, Service Contracts, Source Selection Boards, and Facilities Management.
Adkins recently returned to the Northwestern Division after spending the last four years working as the POD Civil Emergency Program Manager for the Readiness and Contingency Operations Division. Since returning to NWD, she has deployed to Washington State in support of the wildfires that struck the eastern part of the state in August.
Adkins credits her success to mentoring and reachback support to permanent ESF #3 cadre members, Pete Navesky, Mark Clark, and Frank Randon, who have helped her develop her subject matter expertise in ESF #3 operations.
She also recognized Drew Benziger, her supervisor with POD and the Division Readiness and Contingency Operations Chief.
“He took great interest in my professional development and offered me many opportunities to lead, deploy and develop my skill sets as an emergency manager,” said Adkins.