Kristin Weivoda is a visionary leader in emergency management who is recognized for her commitment to building resilient and thriving communities. As the Chief of Emergency Services for Yolo County, she has spent over a decade spearheading transformative, community-driven approaches to emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
Her leadership within the county is marked by her exceptional ability to foster collaboration across various sectors, such as government agencies, healthcare providers, first responders, and community organizations. By leading these cross-sector workgroups, Weivoda has helped identify and address critical gaps within emergency management and public safety, ensuring that communities are better equipped to face and recover from emergencies.
She has been honored with prestigious awards, including EMS Administrator of the Year from the State of California and the Circle Achievement Award from the California State Association of Counties. Currently pursuing her Master of Science in Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Kristin is leveraging her legal education to advance further equity, innovation, and community-driven solutions in emergency management.
Be the person who drives change, challenges the status quo and speaks up when something isn’t right. And when things don’t go as planned, stay humble, adapt, and keep pushing forward. We all have a role in making a difference
In an exclusive interview with Govt CIO Outlook, she shared her invaluable thoughts concerning the industry’s changes, the ensuing challenges and possible solutions.
Community Engagement and Health Equity
In 2013, I began my career under the government of Yolo County as their Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Administrator. Driven by a strong determination to make a meaningful impact within the community, I helped establish their EMS agency from the ground up, elevating it to the recognized model of excellence in Northern California.
During this time, I was also increasingly involved in Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP), which allowed me to address numerous emergencies, including Ebola, Norovirus outbreaks, California wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These experiences deepened my understanding of the critical role that timely and effective service delivery plays in supporting communities during crises, fueling my passion for emergency management and health equity.
The challenge, however, is that emergency medical services have always been more adept at reacting to crises. While conducting post-action reviews and identifying areas for improvement help revise plans and policies, they limit our ability to safeguard communities and prevent emergencies proactively. This realization prompted me to shift my inclination from reactive to proactive strategies.
However, decision-making in emergency management has traditionally been reactive due to a lack of robust data within the field. Recognizing this gap, I implemented a process where we actively engage with the community to assess our effectiveness. While this approach has made it easier for the public to stay consistently informed about our plans and the time required to implement specific actions, addressing the practical aspects of emergency preparedness is equally important. To achieve this, we must understand diverse communities’ unique needs and challenges, enabling us to identify and implement effective solutions.
Overcoming Barriers in Emergency Response Preparedness
The most significant obstacle in the emergency response field is inadequate funding. While a notable portion of our budget comes from the federal government, the amount is insufficient to cover operational expenses. It is also exceedingly difficult to convince local government bodies to allocate resources for proactive emergency management initiatives, especially when their typical approach involves releasing funds only after an emergency.
This reactive mindset hinders effective planning, stifles creativity and innovation, and complicates the adoption of new technologies and advancements. It is also important to prioritize adopting software solutions that best meet the community’s needs rather than choosing the least expensive option. This added complexity only compounds the barriers to securing the funding necessary for long-term preparedness.
The consequences of this funding model are painfully evident when a disaster strikes. The devastation, loss of life, and injuries that follow often stem from a lack of resources dedicated to preparedness. Media coverage and public outcry typically focus on the aftermath of these events, but the underlying issue remains overlooked.
A key strategy to address these challenges and advance our initiatives is to partner with organizations like NGOs, health systems, and universities to leverage collective resources and expertise. While securing full project funding can be challenging, collaboration allows us to pursue essential initiatives even when the financial burden is not entirely within our budget.
In addition to funding, a significant barrier plaguing the field is the existence of silos between departments and organizations. While we oversee the emergency support functions and critical infrastructure established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), our approach extends beyond these traditional boundaries, establishing partnerships across diverse sectors.
Toward a Proactive Emergency Management Future Over the years, emergency management has evolved significantly, adapting to technological innovations and shifting societal needs. My vision for the future is to make emergency management a well-recognized, trusted resource throughout Yolo County. I am working to change the perception of our office, making it as familiar and trusted as the public health departments or local healthcare systems so that people recognize our work beyond times of crisis.
Five years later, I also hope to have succeeded in building a more stable and proactive funding model for emergency management. While convincing others to prioritize preparedness during times of peace is undoubtedly the most challenging aspect of this work, I envision a future in which the importance of proactive planning will be clear to all.
Embracing Risk to Drive Change
My advice is simple—do not be afraid to step down an unfamiliar path, and if it does not work out, own it, learn and move forward. Perfection isn’t the goal—sometimes, we must see what works. The key to growth is often in taking risks, experimenting with new ideas, seeing what works, and being open to change.
Instead of hesitating, I would suggest every individual to be the person who drives change, challenges the status quo and speaks up when something isn’t right. And when things don’t go as planned, stay humble, adapt, and keep pushing forward. We all have a role in making a difference. By refusing to settle for traditional methods, one must embrace the responsibility of driving progress and creating meaningful change for future generations.
