Barbara Russo

Dr. Barbara Russo, CEM, PMP has been involved with the fire and emergency services for more than 25 years, beginning as a volunteer firefighter and eventually ending her career as the Division Chief of Training and Standards for the City of Jacksonville (N.C.) before returning to the classroom upon completion of her doctorate. She proudly bills herself a “pracademic”, spending more than 25 years in the classroom developing courses, curricula and teaching fire and emergency management courses to students at the undergraduate and graduate levels while continuing to practice in the field as a certified emergency manager. Prior to assuming her current role at FEMA, she served as the Divisional Emergency Manager for MUSC Health in Columbia, SC and was selected as the University of Mississippi’s first-ever campus Emergency Manager. She continues to teach, consult and serve as an emergency manager while dedicating her career to increasing diversity in the fire and emergency services.