Speaker Information

Eric Holdeman is the Director, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR) which is part of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER). His areas of expertise include building regional coalitions between agencies, governments, the private sector and non-profits. Building regional disaster resilience is key to what he does day-to-day. Disaster planning, regional planning, port security operations, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) design and construction, multi-media public education programs, Joint Information Center (JIC) formation and operations, media relations, social media, meeting facilitation and integration of technology into emergency management and homeland security programs are just a few of the areas in which he has extensive experience.

In 2007 he was recognized by Government Technology Magazine as one of the Top 25 people in the nation who, “Challenge convention, confront entrenched bureaucracy and promote innovation.” He has also authored numerous articles for professional journals and opinion pieces for local, regional and national newspapers. He is a Senior Fellow, columnist, contributing writer and blogger for Emergency Management Magazine. An experienced and accomplished public speaker he is sought after to present at national and regional conferences. Eric has the United States’ most popular blog on the topic of emergency management at www.disaster-zone.com He is sought after for expert commentary by commercial media outlets.

Eric has an extensive work experience in the areas of emergency management and homeland security. He has worked as a Port Security Director for the Port of Tacoma, a “top ten” United States port, supervising 60 personnel and administering $56M in Port Security Grants and projects. Previous to that he worked as a consultant for ICF International, a Fairfax, Virginia based consulting firm. Prior to joining ICF he was a local emergency management director for King County Washington which includes the metropolitan Seattle area. In this position he established the King County Office of Emergency Management as a national leader in many areas of emergency management and homeland security.

While leading the King County program the projects he facilitated included: regional homeland security, regional coordination and administration of numerous homeland security grants. In 2005 King County was given a national award by the National Association of Counties (NACo) for establishing a “Regional Approach to Homeland Security.” Additionally, the 9/11 Commission recognized the King County Regional Disaster Response Plan as a “Best Practice” for integrating the private business sector into community-wide disaster planning.

Immediately prior to assuming his position in King County he worked for the Washington State Division of Emergency Management for five years. While with Washington State Eric served in a number of increasingly responsible supervisory positions in the areas of operations, training, public education, disaster exercises, and plans. Previously, Eric completed a 20-year career in the US Army as an Infantry Officer. While in the military, he served in a variety of demanding assignments in which he developed and managed operation centers and was responsible for contingency planning. He is a graduate of Concordia University Chicago, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Education.

Eric is a member and Past President of the Washington State Emergency Management Association (WSEMA). He currently serves on the Pacific Northwest-Advanced National Seismic Safety Region Advisory Committee. Additionally, he is on the Advisory Board for the University of Washington’s Masters in Strategic Planning for Critical Infrastructures.