Name: Berl Jones

Title:
Chief, Individual Assistance Program Management

What I do:
I oversee staff who provide recovery services to disaster victims, including crisis counseling, disaster unemployment, legal services and also prepare for and respond to national disasters for FEMA.

My experience/education:
I have a bachelor's degree in community health and a master's degree in public health. I am a volunteer firefighter and have specialized training in collapse rescue and counter-terrorism. I worked for AOL as a senior program manager and for the American Red Cross, where I responded to national and regional disaster, coordinating volunteers and working as an advisor to FEMA.

Name: Val Bunting

Title:
Director of Regional Operations

What I do:
I work with FEMA's 10 regional office to provide leadership and management guidance on policy, programs, operations and resource matters. I also advise top headquarters officials about issues in the regional offices. The regional offices are responsible for implementing FEMA's programs and policies in 50 states and the U.S. territories, and for responding to disasters that strike the communities in their areas.

My experience/education:
I started my career as an intern in a radio station in Los Angeles and then became a program assistant in a television newsroom and a reporter for a weekly newspaper. I then worked in the press office of the mayor of Los Angeles before starting to work at FEMA as a public affairs officer and later as the director of the Public Affairs Office. Later, I served as the deputy regional director of the California-based Region IX. I majored in broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California.