Fourteen members of Loyola Blakefield's Cyber Science Program were invited to the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) at Camp Fretterd in Reisterstown on Feb. 20 by External Outreach Branch Manager and Loyola alumnus Chas Eby ’03.
According to their website, MEMA is the agency of State government with primary responsibility and authority for emergency preparedness policy and for coordinating hazard mitigation, incident response, and disaster recovery. This includes supporting local governments as requested and coordinating assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal partners.
Students had the opportunity to hear from several members on MEMA’s staff including NCR Regional Planner Blake Stave and Preparedness Director Brendan McCluskey to learn more about MEMA’s role within the state of Maryland.
Students also heard from members of the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC) about their recent cyber security initiatives. MCAC, which was formed shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 by the Maryland Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council, coordinates the efforts of federal, state, and local agencies to gather, analyze, and share intelligence information with law enforcement, public health, and emergency responder personnel.
Later in the morning, students participated in a tabletop discussion exercise where MEMA employees gave students a set of scenarios which dealt with cyber security related topics. MEMA employees asked the students how they would resolve each issue from the specific department they had been assigned to and what they might do in the future to prevent a similar mishap.
Lastly, students received a tour of the facility, which included the Maryland Joint Operations Center (MJOC) which, according to MEMA’s website, serves as a 24/7 communications hub for emergency responders and alerts decision-makers in Maryland when a situation warrants. In times of disaster, the Executive Director of MEMA activates the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) to support local governments. The center is operated round-the-clock by National Guard and emergency management professionals as the first joint civilian-military watch center in the country.
This marks the first visit to a state agency for Loyola’s Cyber Science Program. View photos from the morning here.