Erica Woolf, MA (DEM)

Provides senior leadership across four program areas—Planning, Public Alerting and Technology, the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre, and Emergency Social Services—overseeing provincial readiness, workforce strategy, technology modernization, and stakeholder coordination for a team of 38 staff and a $4.7 million budget. Leads the procurement and implementation of enterprise-wide information management and public alerting systems to strengthen coordination and operational efficiency. Serves as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and elected officials on strategic and operational issues impacting provincial and municipal safety and continuity, including acting as Director of the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre during major disaster responses. Chairs multi-stakeholder initiatives with municipal, provincial, federal, and private-sector partners to advance public safety and readiness, and leads major policy initiatives such as the Provincial Emergency Social Services Framework, Government of Alberta Business Continuity Framework, and Alberta Emergency Plan, ensuring alignment of governance, workforce development, and operational planning across Central Operations.

Works to enhance public safety planning capabilities within the Alberta Emergency Management Agency as well as across the Government of Alberta. This position plays a key role in ensuring government departments develop, maintain and exercise business continuity and consequence management plans. Provides leadership to a team of Emergency Management Officers whose role it is to develop, plan, coordinate, and provide oversight of consequent management, business continuity plans and exercises. Provides leadership within the Provincial Operations Centre (POC) when activated for an emergency or exercise by performing the role of Planning Section Chief.

In this multifaceted policy role, my primary responsibilities include: -Leading AEMA initiated research on a variety of topics related to disaster resilience and risk reduction. -Identifying and assessing inputs to develop options for program and strategic policy related to resilience strategy, and employing innovative policy development strategies. -Providing subject matter expertise to the agency and cross-ministry groups on disaster resilience. -Participating in and supporting cross-ministry working groups focused on adaptation, resilience, and mitigation as they relate to disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience. -Providing advice and guidance to AEMA business units on development and approval practices and processes for policy, policy evaluation and program development. And much more!

Municipal Services Offices serve as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs primary liaison with the municipal sector. Staff come from a number of professional backgrounds, including land use planning, municipal administration and municipal finance. In addition to this experience, staff have the ability to reach ministry experts in most areas of municipal activities when further information is required. MSO activities contribute to the Ministry’s goal of fostering productive and co-operative provincial-municipal relationships by facilitating direct client contact and outreach, and by building partnerships and local networks. Local Government and Planning staff provides support and advice to municipalities and the general public in areas of local government and land use planning. Housing staff provides support and advice to Consolidated Municipal Service Managers and District Services Administration Boards on the delivery of affordable housing.

• Collected and interpreted relevant internal and external data and research on issues pertaining to TBDSSAB activities and interests. • Analyzed data from a variety of sources to support evidence-based decision making. • Worked collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to identify data needs, collect data, and provide interpretation support in applying available data and research. • Involved researching, writing, and distributing evidence-based reports for management, the Board, stakeholders and the general public.

• Provides issues management and policy support, including research, analysis and advice to the Agency. • Provides internal and external communications support associated with the implementation of policy around public safety and residual flood 2013 policy. • Coordinates with provincial government departments to support the consistent policy approaches related to the development and implementation of public safety and 2013 flood recovery policy.

Member of the Policy Integration Branch at Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. In this role, I have worked to increase the policy capacity of the department through the development of educational tools and the review and updating of policy processes. Further, I supported other branches through the policy development process and the writing and development of Cabinet Committee Decision Documents.

Member of the Policy Development Unit of the Strategic Services Branch at Alberta Infrastructure. Within this role, I have gained experience with public policy and economic analysis and research, report and briefing writing, program development, policy analysis, capital planning processes, toolkit and framework development and more.

Facilitator and educator with Philosophy for Children Alberta, a program that operates out of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alberta. In my role, I worked to advocate for the inclusion of philosophy in the education of children, as well as develop and support the Philosophy for Children summer programs.

A dynamic two-year interdisciplinary degree dedicated to educating both existing and aspiring disaster and emergency management professionals. The program focuses on supporting communities at risk and increasing their resilience to the variety of hazards, both now and in the future. The program emphasizes an integrated and holistic approach to disaster and emergency management built on the understanding that disasters are more than hazards, and are products of the inter-relationship and mutual construction of the environmental, social, economic, and political spheres.

As a base, political science is the study of power – where does it come from, how is it organized, what can it do, how can it be limited or expanded, who has it, why does it work, does it change over time and why? At the University of Alberta, these questions are explored through a variety of contexts and locales. Philosophy is the critical study of ideas, experiences, and institutions. Whether your inclinations are those of the mathematician, the poet, the scholar, or the activist, there is certain to be an area of Philosophy that will pique your interest. Unlike many other fields, in which the memorization of facts or the inculcation of received theories figures prominently, Philosophy is devoted to free inquiry, and originality and creativity as well as the ability to express oneself clearly and to argue convincingly are valued.