September 28, 2008 – Louisiana: The Institute for Building Technology (IBTS) has created a new disaster management group to broaden its capacity to help communities recover from natural disasters. The action came in the wake of Hurricane Ike which devastated many Texas and Louisiana communities.
Brett Kriger, a seasoned disaster management veteran, is heading the new group which will provide a full range of rapid response and long-term disaster recovery services. As Vice President of ICF International, Kriger led the Road Home Disaster Mitigation Program which secured $1.1 billion in FEMA recovery funds for the Louisiana Road Home Program following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The new IBTS disaster management group specializes in providing direct assistance to states, counties, cities, and towns in managing all phases of FEMA and other Federal recovery programs including public assistance, individual assistance, damage assessment, debris removal, documentation, residential and commercial building inspections/code enforcement, audit, and quality control.
Joining Kriger on the disaster management group are Art Jones and Peter Mutty, who have more than 50 years of combined experience in managing all phrases of disaster response and recovery.
IBTS already has a solid track record in helping state and local governments respond to disasters including providing badly needed inspection services in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the 11 most affected parishes and, more recently, helping Cedar Rapids, Iowa, recover from massive flooding last summer that shut down the central business district.
“We brought together three of the most knowledgeable disaster response and recovery experts in the country to strengthen IBTS’s capacity to help state and local governments deal with the impacts of disasters in general and the red tape of securing federal funds for long-term recovery,” said Ashok Goswami, IBTS CEO. “Brett’s experience in all phases of disaster management in Louisiana will ensure that IBTS can provide the best help possible when disaster strikes.”
Before joining IBTS, Kriger had an extensive career in homeland security and emergency management operations. He was senior executive with Science Applications International Corporation, Vice President of the Disaster Mitigation Division at ICF International, President and CEO of Allied Independent Consulting, and Deputy Assistant Director of the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness where he provided executive oversight and directed operational control of all state agencies in the Emergency Operations Center during declared emergencies and disasters.
Jones’s disaster management experience includes president of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) and Director of the Response and Recovery Division of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. In addition to managing the state recovery for 28 presidentially declared disasters including Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina, and Rita, he is an adjunct instructor at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Md.
Mutty was a Program Assistance expert with FEMA where he worked on 48 presidentially declared disasters throughout the United States. Since leaving FEMA, he has worked on numerous additional disasters including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita where he was responsible for preparing highly technical and complex damage survey reports and project worksheets relating to eligible damages. He also worked extensively on design and construction of hazard mitigation projects and obtaining the Federal funding to reduce future storm damage.
Press Contact
Karen Johnson
Market Engagement Program Director
kjohnson@ibts.org
