Andrew Slaten

Recently retired after 15 years with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Andrew served as Deputy Director of the International Affairs Division of FEMA.  He led efforts to support emergency management collaboration with global partners, especially in North and South America and Europe.  He was a principal architect of the International Assistance System (IAS) developed after Hurricane Katrina to manage the acceptance of international aid into the U.S.  He led a 5-year collaboration with Mexico’s National Center for Prevention of Disasters and the U.S. Army Northern Command to align emergency management training, education and exercises between Mexico and the United States to support cross-border mutual aid and enhance hemispheric disaster readiness and resiliency.

Prior to his service with FEMA, Andrew served for 20 years with the American National Red Cross, in disaster services, international services and community organization. He was part of the team to design and implement a national educational program on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and served on the International Red Cross team supporting the humanitarian response Operation Provide Comfort  in 1991 on the Turkey-Iraq border following the end of the Gulf War.

Andrew received a Master of Arts Degree in Public Security from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security in Monterey, California.  Andrew is author of Bridging The Gulf: A New Paradigm For Emergency Management On America’s Third Border (March 2012, Naval Postgraduate School) offering insights into future adjustments to U.S. government engagement in foreign disasters. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Emergency Management, serves as Advisory Board Member for the Center for Disaster Research and Education (CDRE), Millersville University, Pennsylvania, and is an Editorial Board member and contributor for the Yearbook of International Disaster Law (BRILL) with published articles on North America and Central America.