The letter

America faces an unprecedented surge in weather disasters—striking communities every four days on average and forcing millions from their homes every year. As emergency managers seek to build stronger local and state response capacity, we have a powerful opportunity to leverage an existing, skilled workforce that’s been hiding in plain sight.

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of professionals already excel at the core skills needed for effective disaster response: crowd management, complex logistics coordination, crisis communication, and maintaining public trust under pressure. They are venue operators, festival producers, faith leaders, and community organizations. These professionals don’t need to be trained from scratch—they need “last mile” integration with emergency management protocols, specialized disaster preparedness knowledge, and formal recognition as community resilience assets.

We call on emergency management officials, policymakers, and community leaders to:

• Formally recognize arts, culture, faith, and venue professionals as essential partners in disaster preparedness
• Invest in targeted training programs that build on existing professional skills
• Include these sectors in emergency planning and response coordination
• Support funding and policies that strengthen community resilience through existing cultural infrastructure

Every community already has people with the skills to save lives in disasters. It’s time to give them the tools and recognition they need to use them.