Bryan Koon
Vice President of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, IEM

Bryan Koon is the former Director at the Florida Division of Emergency Management and serves as IEM’s Vice President of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Koon serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the NIBS’ Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council (MMC), an independent, non-governmental entity of leading experts in mitigation that helps inform policy and advocates for smart mitigation practices nationwide. Koon has spent his career focused on improving emergency response operations and engaging communities in becoming better prepared for emergencies and disasters. Koon joins IEM with a well-rounded background of military, consultant, corporate business, and public sector experience. Koon was appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott in 2011 to be the state’s Director of Emergency Management. In this position, Koon managed the division’s responsibilities in planning for, responding to, and recovering from natural and manmade disasters. This included preparing and implementing the statewide Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, conducting state and local exercises and training to improve preparedness capabilities, and acting as liaison between the Florida Division of Emergency Management and federal and state agencies. Koon’s priorities included relationship-building and better communications between the private and public sectors as well as improved cross-over between state preparedness and recovery efforts. In his role, Koon was also the Chair of the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and Vice Chair of the Domestic Security Oversight Council (DSOC).

Judson M. Freed, MA CEM
Director, Ramsey County, Emergency Management and Homeland Security

Since 2003, Judson Freed has served as Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for one of the nation's most densely populated, large urban counties. Freed is the Immediate Past President of IAEM-USA and as a member of the Board of Directors of IAEM-Global. He has more than 30 years of experience in Emergency Management, Homeland Security, risk, resilience, and continuity.

A frequent presenter and lecturer on issues surrounding Emergency Management, homeland security, risk, and ethics in an age of terrorism, Freed is a member of the National Academies of Science, Medicine, and Engineering Resilient America Roundtable; and an Adjunct Professor in Emergency Management at Idaho State University. He is active in government affairs issues pertaining to the implications and impact of emergency management on local communities and government. Freed has provided expert testimony before the United States Congress on several occasions, and to federal commissions as well as the Minnesota State Legislature.

Kevin Bush
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, Kevin Bush oversees affordable housing and community development programs, including the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), the HOME Investment Partnerships program, the Housing Trust Fund, and CDBG Disaster Recovery funds, in addition to Department-wide energy and environmental policy. Previously, Bush served as Washington, D.C.’s first Chief Resilience Officer, where he led efforts to prepare the nation’s capital for climate change, technological disruption, and a changing economy. He also served as the Chief of Resilience and Emergency Preparedness at the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency during the District's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bush also served on President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Not a stranger to HUD, Bush previously served in the Office of Field Policy and Management, Office of Community Planning and Development, and Office of the Secretary. He has also been both a Presidential Management Fellow and City of Chicago Mayoral Fellow. Bush holds a Master’s of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Business from Michigan State University.

Eric Letvin
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mitigation, Federal Emergency Management Agency

Eric Letvin serves as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mitigation. He directs FEMA’s pre- and post-disaster mitigation programs that support sustainable, disaster-resilient communities, to avoid or reduce the loss of life, property, and financial impacts of natural hazards. These programs include the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant Program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the Flood Mitigation Assistance grants, the Floodplain Management component of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and the Community Rating System under the NFIP. In addition, Letvin leads the hazard mitigation disaster workforce cadre and overall disaster operations for the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration. Mr. Letvin was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2016.

Prior to joining FEMA, Letvin was the Director of Hazard Mitigation and Risk Reduction Policy with the National Security Council, The White House. He coordinated the development and effective delivery of mitigation capabilities identified in the National Preparedness Goal and advised the President in the mitigation mission area. He led interagency efforts to develop Executive Orders which resulted in the resiliency of the built environment to flood, earthquake and wildfire hazards. Prior to serving at the National Security Council, Letvin was the Disaster and Failure Studies Program Director within the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Engineering Laboratory. Before coming to NIST, Letvin was Leader of Infrastructure Research and Resiliency Team in the Homeland Security Group of URS (AECOM). He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Syracuse University and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore.