Kathleen Smith serves as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Community and Mitigation Planning Branch Chief within the resilience organization where she leads FEMA’s national mitigation planning team. The National Mitigation Planning program supports states, tribes, and local communities to plan strategically and to improve their long-term resilience. Currently, over 25,000 jurisdictions across the nation have participated in the development of mitigation plans for their communities. Smith also works across resilience programs, FEMA and other federal agencies to integrate mitigation into programs that influence community planning and community development and improve the resilience of communities, to understand their risks, and to take action to reduce risks from natural hazards.
Smith joined FEMA 2001 as a presidential management fellow. She holds a masters in urban planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelor of science degree in community and regional planning from Iowa State University. Smith is certified under the American Institute for Certified Planners. Prior to FEMA, Smith developed her foundational knowledge of local government as a community planner both in municipal government and as a contractor.