Building Disaster Resilience Worldwide

Raised in Maywood, Illinois Vince Davis spent the early part of his career in the telecommunications industry, working for AT&T and several other companies. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he served as an air traffic control specialist during the waning days of the Vietnam War. Vince joined the Illinois National Guard as a public information supervisor, where he received extensive training and experience in crisis media and community relations. Not long after the September 11, 2001 Terror Attack, he joined FEMA as an External Affairs and Community Relations Manager, leading field teams in response to 11 Presidential disasters including Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.

Leaving FEMA just prior to Katrina, Vince put his skills to use with a brief stint at the Save-A-Life Foundation, before joining the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. There he oversaw chapter capacity initiatives, leading a groundbreaking effort for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Go To 2040 Project. This was part of a community-wide effort to research and report on the state of community resilience in the Chicagoland region. This work resulted in publication of the Emergency Preparedness Report and recommendations for improvements in community preparedness over the next 40 years.

Vince's next venture was as project lead consultant for the Regional Catastrophic Planning Team, where he was responsible for overseeing development of the Illinois, NW Indiana, Southern WI Regional Catastrophic Incident Coordination Plan. This project involved emergency managers from the three states, City of Chicago, and seventeen counties, and was the first phase of a planning effort for mass evacuation and mass care for the region's 8 million inhabitants.

In 2011, Vince joined Walgreens Co. as corporate Manger of Emergency Preparedness and Response, developing disaster plans and frameworks for the company's 8,600 U.S. stores and facilities. He led emergency operations center coordination for Hurricane Isaac, Super-storm Sandy, the Moore, OK Tornado, and Boston Marathon Response. Vince also developed emergency plans for the G-8 Summit, and Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore Maryland civil unrest. He then moved to San Diego, where he served as Emergency Manager for Sony PlayStation division, developing disaster and capacity building programs for their North America corporate locations.

Vince joined Amazon in 2017 as corporate manager for Workplace Resilience, where he is responsible for facilitating workplace and workplace disaster planning and coordination across the HQ community. In addition to his duties at Amazon, Vince pursues his personal passion of working with underserved communities through his Preparedness Matters Consulting Network, which he formed in 2012, when he authored Lost and Turned Out - A Guide To Preparing Underserved Communities for Disasters. In 2016, Vince began a collaboration with Native Public Media to produce the first ever Emergency Guidebook for Native Broadcasters. He also completed his second book, The Native Family Disaster Preparedness Handbook, (2017) in collaboration with National Tribal Emergency Management Council, and other native organizations.

Vince is a Certified Emergency Manager by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), and past chairperson of the Children In Disaster Caucus. He is also an advisory board member and contributor for Domestic Preparedness Journal, and a lifetime member of the Black Emergency Managers Association (BEMA) International.

Earlier this year he was voted by Base Camp as one of the top three emergency managers to follow on LinkedIn. A sought after speaker and panelist on preparedness and resilience issues, Vince has appeared as a featured speaker, trainer, and workshop facilitator at emergency management and crisis management forums across the U.S. and Canada.

Vince is the father of five adult children and grandfather of eight . He and his wife Maria live in the Seattle area.

Vince's passion for advocating for vulnerable populations is detailed in his self-published book designed to '"demystify" the disaster system and offer positive solutions for community empowerment. He's a loyal advocate, an amazing researcher and storyteller, and this 2012 publication almost looks prophetic based on today's disaster preparedness situation.

Vince had an immediate and continuous impact on Indigenous communities with this 2017 publication. His sincere desire to make a difference, and ability to focus on the cultural relevance of the output, resulted in significant partnerships with Native community leaders to bring about this groundbreaking publication. The 62-page full color handbook has had a positive impact on community preparedness and disaster literacy in Native communities.

Native Public Media engaged Vince's skills to develop and publish the first emergency resource guide for broadcasters operating the 58 radio and TV stations serving Indian Country. His skill and ability to combine emergency management acumen with media expertise resulted in this groundbreaking effort to provide useful tools for disaster broadcasters PSAs, and preparedness information for indigenous people.

Vince is a highly motivated, caring, and action-oriented person; who will deliver excellence in any endeavor he embraces. His passion and documented works for the underserved disaster survivors is a testimony of his leadership.

Also, Vince encourages, mentors, and provides opportunities for all staff, based on the content of their character and their expertise. As a leader, I would welcome the opportunity to serve under his leadership because he advocates a team spirit.

To emergency management leaders, who embrace diversity, Vince would be a welcomed person to serve with, for, or in any homeland security and emergency management organization.

Vince is a visionary and thought leader in the world of emergency management, disaster preparedness, and resiliency strategies. Having been involved in both public and private sectors, Vince literally wrote the book on lessons learned and clearly understands what works and what doesn't.

His passion for underserved communities is evident by his tireless contributions of his time, talents, and treasures he shares with those who can't fend for themselves and are most vulnerable to disasters.

Vince is one of those rare people you meet in life that have a God given anointing and message that impacts everyone around them.