Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a new initiative at Florida International University on Wednesday aimed at improving disaster response statewide.
The program, titled the Coalition for Operational Readiness and Education (CORE), is designed to bolster and modernize Florida’s emergency management sector through training across colleges, universities, training centers, government agencies and private-sector organizations.
“That may mean you work for the state of Florida at the Division of Emergency Management, but it also may mean you can work for Miami-Dade County, or you could even work in the private sector because a lot of these private sector partners are heavily involved in emergency management,” DeSantis said.
The program will provide students with hands-on experience through a partnership between the Florida Division of Emergency Management, FloridaCommerce and the Florida Department of Education.
The press conference was Perdue's first in the new role, as he replaces former Executive Director Kevin Guthrie. Guthrie resigned last week after joining Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins' losing gubernatorial campaign.
“We already have a great team at the division, but we need to continue to feed that pipeline,” said FDEM's new Executive Director Jared Perdue.
“We need to attract new people into the industry, and we need to provide opportunities for them to grow and learn so that we continue to get better in the future. And this is what the CORE program is all about.”
While institutions like FIU already offer emergency management courses, state officials say CORE will offer a more personalized pathway into the profession.
So far, 11 state colleges have committed to adopting the program.
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