Vision Planning and Consulting (VPC) was awarded a contract by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) services to support provide technical assistance support needs in developing and validating the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) requirements that involves extensive data analysis, data visualization, and requirements validation.
This contract award is yet another achievement for VPC, and a reflection of an already strong partner relationship with FEMA. During the past 10 years in operation, VPC has grown to be recognizable brand and a trusted partner in emergency management.
“We are excited for the opportunity to work on this project for FEMA. Our expertise in pulling together a high-performance team, managing and executing complex projects, and making innovation the key driver will enable us to complete this contract successfully. The performance metrics, baseline and trend data that we will develop for HMA grant programs will provide deep insights to FEMA leadership and external stakeholders on the success of the grant programs,” said Deepa Srinivasan, President, VPC.
The contract will employ a team of highly skilled data analysts, GIS specialists and subject matter experts, as well as cutting edge technologies to execute the project over the one-year timeline.
Ashley Samonisky, VPC’s Planner, was voted in as the Outreach Subcommittee Chair for the Maryland State Geographic Information Committee (MSGIC) for a second year. Ashley began her association with the non-profit group as their first intern in their inaugural, competitive internship program in 2014.
During her internship, Ashley worked diligently to update and organize the group’s website and archives, and to expand their social media presence. Ms. Samonisky proved herself to be a tremendous asset to the organization and after only one year as an intern with MSGIC, was nominated to the Executive Committee and was voted in for her first term in October 2015.
As part of MSGIC’s Executive Committee she helps promote GIS use, education, and open data across the state, and at all levels; local, educational, county, regional, and state. As the Outreach Subcommittee Chair, Ms. Samonisky is responsible for public engagement; maintaining and updating the website, newsletter, social media outlets, and blog; assisting with organizing the Quarterly Meetings; and supervising the two new interns for this year.
If you are interested in learning more about the organization please visit www.msgic.org.
Vision Planning and Consulting is pleased to be awarded a contract to assist Calvert County, Maryland, with their Hazard Mitigation Plan and Flood Mitigation Plan updates. Work officially began in October and the first Steering Committee meeting was held on 24th October at the Calvert County Courthouse.
The Steering Committee is composed of representatives from Planning and Zoning, Emergency Management, Economic Development, Department of Public Works, municipal representatives, and homeowners among others. The goal is to have input from various agencies, residents, and businesses.
The first Steering Committee meeting included an evaluation of the Hazard Mitigation Plan and Flood Mitigation Plan goals and objectives. Next steps include updating the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment, a review of mitigation actions, and scheduling a public meeting.
Vision Planning and Consulting is excited to celebrate our 10-year Anniversary!!! Since our founding in late October 2006, VPC has experienced nothing but growth and opportunity. We could not have done it without the dedication and support of our employees, partners, and most importantly, our clients.
The past ten years have flown by and we have created a portfolio of diverse clientele during our journey. From rural townships in Pennsylvania to highly urbanized areas such as Washington DC, our goal has been sustainability and resiliency. We have extended the VPC family to include our partnering organizations that range from multinational companies to small businesses and academic institutions.
We look forward to many more years of assisting organizations, communities, academic institutions, agencies, and governments to prepare for, recover from, and mitigate against natural disasters with tools, guides, strategies, and training. We will continue to assist federal, regional, state, tribal and local clients and we are committed to improving community well-being and resilience.
Deepa Srinivasan, President of Vision Planning and Consulting, was invited to serve as a judge at the Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition at Centennial High school in Maple Lawn, Maryland last weekend.
The Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition brings high school students together from five states and federal territories including Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and Washington DC to promote their blue ocean business ideas.
What started two years ago with Nicholas Benavides, a high school junior at Centennial High, is on track to become the country’s largest entrepreneurship competition run for, and by, high school students. You can learn more here.
Blue Ocean Organizers Hope to Open the Competition to Schools Nationwide in 2017.
Competition results are as follows:
People's Choice - JMJQ Tactical Solutions
Vision Planning and Consulting would like to congratulate all of the Blue Ocean Competition Participants.
Deepa Srinivasan, AICP, CFM, President and Founder of Vision Planning and Consulting, presented at the American Planning Association's National Planning Conference (April 2-5th) in Phoenix, AZ last week.
Highlights include: How to incorporate risk reduction strategies into existing local plans, policies, codes, and programs that guide development or redevelopment patterns, Plan Integration concepts and mechanisms related to planning and how to conduct them at the local and state levels to achieve safe and smart growth, Ways to introduce safety principles into various plans and ordinances through the use of a Plan Integration Guide that can be used by communities nationwide to perform plan integration Best practices from communities that are large/small, urban/rural, flood prone/tornado prone/hurricane prone, and in different parts of the United States Lessons learned, barriers, and challenges from the FEMA Plan Integration pilot programs.
Planners in the National Capital Region in the United States are in the driver's seat for developing plans and setting policies. With the influx of natural hazards including Superstorm Sandy, which sent much of the United States' Mid-Atlantic region reeling, it is imperative that planners focus on turning "smart growth" initiatives into "safe growth" policies. This can be accomplished by effectively integrating and intermingling hazard mitigation concepts into a community’s plans and ordinances to help reduce risk and in turn make these communities more disaster resilient.
The State of Maryland is unique in its recent plan integration efforts. In the last two years, plan integration was conducted at the local and state levels in Maryland. Each of these efforts involved diverse stakeholder groups and was created for different scales: state, county, and town/municipality. This session will identify best practices, gaps, and recommendations for creating a “whole community” approach.
Integrating hazard mitigation into other community policies improves the chances of implementing hazard mitigation strategies. In 2014, FEMA Region III developed a Plan Integration report to: serve as a guide for communities of all types and locations to be able to conduct plan integration and to help communities integrate hazard mitigation into local planning mechanisms.
Following the APA Conference Ms. Srinivasan was invited to speak at the City of Phoenix Hazard Mitigation Planning Seminar at City Hall.
