Janet M. Odeshoo
Deputy Regional Director – Region V
Janet M. Odeshoo is the deputy regional director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region V in Chicago, Illinois. She is responsible for leading, coordinating and managing federal efforts and resources to assist state and local emergency management and response organizations to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from any emergency or disaster, including a terrorist incident.
Mrs. Odeshoo has held her current position for more than 10 years and during her tenure has served several long periods as acting regional director. During her 26-year career with FEMA, she has participated in response and recovery operations for scores of major disasters and emergencies, including Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Great Midwest Floods of 1993. Most recently, she was named federal coordinating officer to oversee and coordinate the assistance provided to the more than 25,000 evacuees that came to the six states in Region V after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In January 2000, Mrs. Odeshoo was invited to Nicaragua to assess that country’s emergency management resources and recommend programs and technical assistance necessary to improve their capability and build disaster resistant communities. She was responsible for the development of the mitigation strategy that was implemented in the Virgin Islands after Hurricane Marilyn in 1995. As a result of the actions taken by the commonwealth, subsequent hurricanes have resulted in much less damage. When FEMA reorganized in 1993, Mrs. Odeshoo was named the director of the newly established Mitigation Division. In this capacity, she oversaw programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program to assist communities in reducing or eliminating the effects of disasters on people and property. Subsequent to the Great Midwest Floods in 1993, she was responsible for the oversight and development of a variety of new mitigation policies, procedures and projects, including the acquisition of more than $60,000,000 in flood prone properties.
From 1990 until 1993, Mrs. Odeshoo was director of the Natural and Technological Hazards Division, with responsibility for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program, the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program and the Hazardous Materials Program. Prior to that, she worked in FEMA’s Disaster Assistance Programs for a number of years where she was responsible for many improvements in damage assessment and estimating. Before joining FEMA, she was a negotiator for a Chicago law firm and worked in the insurance industry.
Mrs. Odeshoo has received numerous awards and other types of recognition for her work,including the prestigious Director’s Award and a nomination for Federal Employee of the Year. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Last Modified: Friday, 13-Jul-2007 10:44:58 EDT