Partner Episode: State of Disaster is a media partner for the 2026 Disasters Expo Miami

As I announced last week, I am a media partner for this year’s Disasters Expo Miami. In this episode, I interview Molly Schwerdt and Evie Poole, who are representing the incredible Disasters Expo and Resilient City marketing team. Of course, we talk about the Disasters Expo and that the Resilient City Expo is coming to Miami for the first time this year.

We also talk about the immense work, logistics, and communication that it takes to put on such a complex event, and the parallels with emergency and disaster management. We also talk about the application of marketing tactics within emergency management because I can’t help myself. If you’re a premium subscriber, you can read my publication on the topic of applying marketing and sales tactics to the way we communicate with our communities. It’s in the archive at stateofdisaster.com.

You can get your free tickets, see the video, transcript, and more here.

Hello, State of Disasterinos!

This episode is a collaboration with some old friends, some new friends, our wrap up of the emergency management trends of 2025, and our thoughts about what we’ll see more of this year.

This was hosted by the fantastic Kyle King and our friends at Crisis Lab. You can find the original episode post on their site, and panelist info on my Substack. Please follow all of them! If you are a State of Disaster premium subscriber, I have pulled all the mentioned research, initiatives, people, places, and things and put them in this week's premium show notes section on stateofdisaster.com

Some Show Updates:

I am a media partner with this year’s Disasters Expo in Miami. Disaster Expo USA is the nation’s leading event, uniting government agencies, first responders, industry suppliers, and innovators dedicated to protecting communities and critical infrastructure. And it is coming up pretty quickly, March 4th and 5th. But if you’re interested in going for free, here is your link for Free Disasters Expo Miami Tickets.

Thank you as always to my partners:

Aspiring Emergency Managers Online (AEMO)

Emergency Management External Affairs Association

If you would like to be a partner or sponsor of State of Disaster or the Disaster Discourse Book Club, I have just finalized the packages for the rest of this quarter. Send an email to matt@stateofdisaster.com or click this link to book a meeting with me.

Stephanie DeLorenzo is a seasoned emergency management professional with over 12 years of experience navigating the complexities of crisis response and resilience building. Passionate about guiding others in the field, she authored Navigating the Chaos: The Ultimate Emergency Management Career Guide, a comprehensive resource for aspiring and current EM professionals. Stephanie is also the founder of Grey Sky Ready, a consulting firm dedicated to bridging the preparedness gap left by FEMA’s evolving role, helping communities and organizations build stronger, more adaptive disaster strategies.

I wanted to create a season that addresses and challenges the current “paradigm” of emergency management. The big EM study was just published, and it confirmed what most of us already knew - most of our colleagues are doing this alone, and the cavalry is not coming. So, we change the paradigm of federal resource dependence. We fortify our capabilities from the ground up. We interrogate our own models, ask uncomfortable questions, and learn important truths that may empower us and our communities to support each other.

Enjoy the show, and join the Disaster Discourse book club, where Stephanie joined us for a live discussion about her book.