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Chris Berti is a seasoned emergency manager and mitigation expert, bringing over 16 years of experience in support of his clients. As part of James Lee Witt Associates' (JLWA) current recovery operations in Louisiana, Mr. Berti serves as a Mitigation Staff Supervisor for a 18-person team helping the State to implement their $1.9 billion Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In this role, his duties include managing JLWA mitigation personnel on a day-to-day basis, overseeing the training of State staff to build capacity within the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and providing technical advisory services to the State Hazard Mitigation Officer on all FEMA funded mitigation programs (including implementation of the Reconstruction Pilot Program and Expanded Planning Pilot Program, both of which are new initiatives having never been implemented previously). He also serves as a technical advisor to State of Louisiana GOHSEP management Staff.
Prior to working at JLWA, from 2000 to 2005, Mr. Berti served as the Federal Emergency Management Agency Pensacola Area Field Office Mitigation Group Supervisor. He oversaw a crew of five Hazard Mitigation personnel, managing 404 HMGP Grant administration, as well as 406 HMGP Grant mitigation, and administrative activities for Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis, Wilma and Katrina. From 1996 to 2000 Mr. Berti was a Disaster Assistance Employee in the State of California where he specialized in Hazard Mitigation and the National Flood Insurance Program.
Before serving at FEMA, Mr. Berti owned and operated his own consultant company, The Mitigation Specialists, Inc. He has served as a Project Coordinator and Planner for the Los Alamos County Forest Fuel Mitigation and Restoration Project, and developed a Defensible Space Project within Los Alamos County, New Mexico. These programs have been successfully implemented, with over 80% countywide participation.
Mr. Berti has certificates from the National Emergency Management Information Service and the Emergency Management Institutes for Plan Reviewing (1999), Eligibility Determination (2000), Project Amendments and Appeals (2000), Public Assistance (1999) and Program Responsibilities: Coordinating Environmental and Historic Compliances (2001), and is a Certified Floodplain Manager. | 