WSSU emergency management team, Isom and Stogner, receive Certified Emergency Manager credential
Sarah Isom and Jason Stogner of Winston-Salem State University’s Emergency Management team were approved by the Certification Commission during its October and December review meetings to receive the Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) credential.
The CEM® designation is the highest honor of professional achievement available from the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). The CEM® designation is a nationally and internationally recognized professional certification for emergency managers and is only held by 2,447 individuals.
Stogner has served as director of WSSU Emergency Management for six years. Isom has served as assistant director since 2020. As emergency managers, their roles are to lead, educate and inform campus constituents in emergency planning and strategies; develop emergency plans to prepare and respond to emergencies; create educational and training materials; conduct training sessions and exercises; and maintain relationships with first responders, local law enforcement, state and federal partners, as well as faculty, staff and administrators. Their office also oversees Environmental Health and Safety and Worker’s Compensation.
As a CEM®, Isom and Stogner each demonstrated a high level of competence and ethical fitness for emergency management, the IAEM said in a letter. They each qualified by submitting extensive credentials packages giving personal and professional background achievements and a written examination. To maintain certification, each of them must continue a program of professional development over successive five-year periods in the future.
Isom and Stogner, who each have earned graduate degrees, have demonstrated that they have the knowledge, skills and ability to effectively manage a comprehensive emergency management program including mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, the IAEM said. They have the experience and knowledge of interagency and community-wide participation in planning, coordination and management functions designed to improve emergency management capabilities.
“Thus, this is an honor neither easily earned nor maintained,” the IAEM said. “Your organization is to be commended for having professionals of this caliber on staff.”
The IAEM is the only organization that offers a certification for individual emergency managers. It consists of more than 6000 emergency managers representing professionals whose goals are saving lives and protecting property and the environment during emergencies and disasters.
Click here to learn more about WSSU’s Office of Emergency Management.
