The Virginia Department of Emergency Management's Private Sector Liaison Program builds relationships between the private sector and emergency management to support each other during disasters. The program focuses on pre-event partnerships and open communication to establish trust and mutual support. It provides training, planning resources, and exercise support to private sector partners and emergency managers to strengthen resilience across different sectors in Virginia.

1. 1
Viirrgiiniia Deparrttmentt off Emerrgency Managementt
“Sustainment through awareness – resilience through partnership”
Summary
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s (VDEM) Private Sector Liaison Program
leads the effort in building cross-sector relationships with various private sector partners. These
relationships are based on mutual support, transparency and trust. The Virginia Private Sector
Liaison serves as a vital link between nongovernmental industry and the Commonwealth’s
emergency management community, including members of the Virginia Emergency Response
Team (VERT) and applicable partner agencies.
Background and Design
Research and observation have shown that incorporating a diverse sample of private sector
partners – representing what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has coined as
“Whole Community” approach – into Virginia’s emergency management framework can yield a
wide array of benefits. Because of this, in 2010 VDEM began researching ways for profit-driven,
not-for-profit, and quasigovernmental entities to work together through a single point of
coordination. Discussions occurred with local officials, catastrophic planning groups, local and
large businesses, as well as emergency management professionals from external organizations.
The establishment of “pre-event” partnerships between the public and private sectors was soon
identified as a necessary area of focus. Confidence in the ability of the state and its partners to
rely on one another during catastrophic occurrences would be paramount for success.
Now, after several years of planning and program development, the Commonwealth of Virginia
recognizes the Private Sector Liaison Program as an essential tool for managing crises. Departing
from the traditional style of private-public coordination, the Virginia Private Sector Liaison
Program focuses on making partnerships operationally valuable while maintaining quality,
timely, and accurate information flow to-and-from the business community.

2. 2
Goals and Objectives
The overarching objective of the program is to engage private sector partners within the
Commonwealth of Virginia on issues of economic stability, business continuity, and life safety.
To ensure this goal is met, the Private Sector Liaison Program provides informal risk
management training, contingency planning support and personal preparedness materials to both
local emergency managers and their respective business communities. The program also
participates in regional planning coalitions to ensure timely restoration of vital services and to
support multistate response efforts.
Training and Exercises
The need for the private sector community to know and understand how disasters – natural and
manmade – are managed and responded to is a critical element in building cross-sector resiliency
throughout the Commonwealth. VDEM opens up select trainings to its partners, including
Logistics 101(Fundamentals) and VEOC 101 (Awareness and Operations). Further trainings
tailored specifically for Virginia industries are currently in development. In addition, The Private
Sector Liaison Program offers on-site support to partners hosting functional or tabletop exercises
within the boundaries of FEMA Region III or its surrounding jurisdictions.
Communication
Products distributed through the Private Sector Liaison Program guarantee transparency and
accuracy, citing much of their contents from vetted, public and private sources, such as:
 Ready.gov
 National Weather Service
 National Hurricane Center
 Disaster Services Vendors
 FEMA Region III/ FEMA National
 Department of Homeland Security
 Virginia Fusion Center
 State Warning Point
Conclusion
As emergency managers seek out new and innovative ways by which disasters can be mitigated,
prepared for, responded to, and recovered from, the Commonwealth of Virginia remains at the
forefront of these efforts. Through coordination by the Virginia Private Sector Liaison Program,
local, state, and regional partnerships will thrive and bring forth a transparent, reliable
environment for successful cross-sector crisis management.
Contact Information
Ryan Garnowski
Private Sector Liaison
Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Ryan.garnowski@vdem.virginia.gov
(804) 513-3511