January 10, 2011
Redlands, California—William Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will give the Keynote Address at the Esri Federal User Conference (FedUC) on January 19, 2011, in Washington, D.C. Each year, this event draws more than 2,500 leaders and geographic information system (GIS) professionals from all levels of government.
FEMA first integrated GIS into its operations in its 1992 response to Hurricane Andrew and has since leveraged the technology to bring critical geospatial intelligence to more than 150 disaster response efforts across the United States. Today, FEMA’s Mapping and Analysis Center is a state-of-the-art GIS laboratory where the agency is developing an enterprise GIS that will integrate its systems and enhance its capabilities. The Mapping and Analysis Center’s staff members are active participants in both the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC), the seminal organizations for national and international GIS policy and standards.
Prior to becoming the administrator of FEMA in 2009, Fugate served as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and led it to become the first statewide organization to receive full accreditation from the Emergency Management Accreditation Program. His agency coordinated disaster response, recovery, preparedness, and mitigation efforts for 11 presidentially declared disasters and managed $4.5 billion in federal disaster assistance. Fugate also led Florida’s massive mutual aid response in support of the Gulf Coast states most impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
In addition to hearing Fugate’s Keynote Address at the Plenary Session, FedUC attendees will explore how GIS supports critical government initiatives, such as transparency and health care reform, through presentations, technical workshops, management programs, Lightning Talks, and a national security session. FedUC will be held January 19–21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Visit esri.com/feduc to learn more or register. Registration is free for federal employees.
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Press Information:
Emily Meyertholen, Esri
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-1695
E-mail (press only): press@esri.com
General Information: info@esri.com
