The embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has put an urgent call out for public information specialists to handle media relations and create communications materials.
Apparently, the federal agency wants people who will work for free while it gets authorization to staff a “Disaster Assistance Employee program.” Here are excerpts from an email sent from a FEMA representative:
My name is Butch Kinerney and I'm in the FEMA Headquarters Public Affairs Office in Washington... We're going to be in need of PIO assistance, especially folks with emergency management backgrounds who can travel quickly to DC and/or to affected areas. We're also in need of people who can do admin work, handle routine media calls, writing press releases and fact sheets, etc.
Currently, the only process available right now is invitational travel.
That means FEMA will pay for all of your transportation and lodging, but we can't pay your salary... We're in the process of setting up the Disaster Assistance Employee program so that we can hire PIOs and pay them. But right now, if your agency is willing to donate your time and pay your salary, we can pay for your expenses...
Deployments can be as short as two weeks. Depending on your interests, you can work in relatively comfy FEMA headquarters and stay in a hotel.
Or you can sleep in a tent and work out of the trunk of a car in the most stricken areas. And everywhere in between... So if you want to get your hands dirty in what is expected to become the biggest disaster (monetarily and geographically) in the Nation's history and get some outstanding experience and exposure to boot, here's your chance. Plus, you get the opportunity to serve your country.
Butch Kinerney
DHS/FEMA Public Affairs
butch.kinerney@dhs.gov
