The Director of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Ms. Vasiti Soko, has successfully completed the Vanguard Executive Crisis Leaders Fellowship for 2024, a program provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Ms. Soko was chosen as one of only 25 senior crisis leaders to participate in FEMA’s executive leadership cohort, which focused on innovative approaches to crisis and emergency management. Notably, she is the first Pacific Islander and Fijian to receive this valuable training.
Crisis and emergency management present evolving challenges. These adept professionals tackle a myriad of issues, including pandemic responses, solutions for homelessness, and refugee resettlement, along with standard emergency responses to natural disasters caused by severe weather.
Ms. Soko is highly knowledgeable in emergency management. Since taking on her role in 2019, she has spearheaded numerous initiatives at the Fiji NDMO. Her accomplishments include establishing Fiji’s National Emergency Response Team (NERT), ratifying several laws, and finalizing the country’s National Disaster Management Act.
The FEMA Vanguard cohort included some of the most experienced leaders in crisis management, comprising emergency management directors from various levels of government, corporate executives, philanthropic leaders, elected officials, and other emergency management professionals.
This program, developed by FEMA in partnership with the RAND Corporation and the McChrystal Group, aims to foster connections that enhance the country’s capabilities to prepare for, anticipate, and respond to crises.