News & Information
Through networking we are able to grow as tribes and share our knowledge with our people.
Trainings and Conferences
FEMA offers multiple program open to tribal organizations to support emergency management and response. All of their trainings are offered at no cost many with travel provided.
You can participate in their independent study courses free of charge.
Application Period Opens for FEMA National Emergency Management Advanced Academy and Executive Academy
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is accepting applications from February 1 – May 15 for the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy
The Advanced Academy addresses program management and oversight, effective communication, integrated collaboration, and strategic thinking skills. The target audience is mid-level managers who have a minimum of three years of experience in an emergency management position to include government, non-profit, voluntary organization, tribal and private sector leaders. The program consists of four resident courses conducted at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and is five days in length. Classes begin in October, November, or December 2018 and are ideally taken sequentially through September 2019.
FEMA Tribal Curriculum
In the spirit of community, FEMA commits itself to building a strong and lasting partnership with American Indians and Alaska Natives to assist them in preparing for the hazards they face, reducing their disaster vulnerabilities, responding quickly and effectively when disasters strike, and recovering in their aftermath. The Tribal Curriculum is a series of courses designed with Tribal people, for Tribal Governments, in order to meet the unique emergency management needs of these Sovereign Nations with regard to tribal culture, tradition, sovereignty and governance.
contact Katie Hirt at
301-447-1164 or katie.hirt@fema.dhs.gov
Helpful Links & Resources
Related Links
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
Department of Interior, (Bureau of Indian Affairs)
Environmental Protection Agency
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
Indian Health Services
National Tribal Environmental Council
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
cms.oregon.gov/DEQ/pages/index.aspx
Washington Department of Ecology Solid Waste Program
The Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) is a non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1991 to provide pollution prevention information and technical assistance and training to small businesses, local communities, and industrial facilities. PPRC’s services come in the form of research, site assessments, face-to-face and virtual training, and general information dissemination.
PPRC provides technical assistance for Tribes in Washington state and in pollution prevention to programs in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. Jean Waters is Project Manager for PPRC. Contact her at jwaters@pprc.org.
Gary Liss & Associates is a leading advocate of Zero Waste who helps communities, businesses, and institutions to develop Zero Waste plans, training, policies, programs, and new solid waste and recycling systems. Contact Gary with any questions about Zero Waste at garyliss4395@gmail.com. Jeremy Drake of Strategy Zero Waste Solutions is an Associate who presented the Zero Waste component at P2ZW trainings in 2023. Contact Jeremy with any questions on Zero Waste concepts or information presented or discussed at the 2023 trainings at jeremy@strategyzerowaste.com.
The Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) engages and helps government agencies, businesses and institutions across the U.S. to increase their purchases of environmentally sustainable and socially responsible goods and services. RPN can help tribal governments to: develop green purchasing policies;- create specifications and contracts for more environmentally preferable products;- identify cooperative purchasing opportunities for safer products available from state and federal agencies; conduct training on green purchasing best practices; and- track the environmental, health and economic benefits of their green purchasing decisions. The executive director of RPN is Alicia Culver.
For more information, go to www.responsiblepurchasing.org or email membership@responsiblepurchasing.org.
Rick McMonagle, EPA Region 10, Tribal Solid Waste Liaison
Rick works with the 42 federally recognized Tribes within Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. He provides technical assistance to Tribes on all facets of sustainable solid and hazardous waste management and travels throughout the region to support Tribes with individual waste management concerns.
Rick has over twenty-five years of experience working to protect land and water and build more sustainable communities. He was the first Executive Director of Friends of the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota and at the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust in River Falls, Wisconsin. He raised his two daughters on a farm in the Upper Midwest and has lived in both urban and rural areas throughout the country. He currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Rick can be reached at (503) 326-6363, or mcmonagle.richard@epa.gov.
Jim Penor, EPA Region 10, Tribal Solid Waste Liaison
Jim Penor has over 45 years’ experience in the solid waste managment industry, holding certifications from the Governmental Refuse Collection and Disposal Association, Solid Waste Association of North America, and the State of Washington. Jim started in the solid waste industry at the Olympic View Landfill salvaging metals and recyclables generated at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard. He moved up to the landfill equipment operators position for many years, until he went to work on the collection side for Brem-Air Disposal. In 1984, he took a landfill management position with the City of Richland in Washington State. Jim has set up numerous waste programs, starting with recycling in 1976. The petroleum-contaminated solids and waste tracking program he set up in Richland Washington 1994, was used as a model by Washington State Department of Ecology. He is a widely consulted expert in Subtitle D regulation cost analysis and compliance. In 1992, Jim provided the Environmental Protection Agency Subtitle D CFR-257 testimony regarding how the new subtitle D solid waste regulations affected the solid waste industry and, including problems, compliance issues, and how the change affected Washington State’s waste regulations. He currently resides in Richland WA, after living in Juneau, Alaska and working for the Capital City of Juneau setting up recycling and household hazardous waste programs. In 2018 Jim took a position with EPA Region 10 as a SEE employee and is currently the Solid Waste Liaison for tribal Villages in the State of Alaska.
Jim can be reached at (907) 500-4963 or penor.james@epa.gov.