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Trailblazers in Conversation with Jim Featherstone

Join LA County Librarian and Director, Dr. Skye Patrick, in conversation with Emergency Management expert, Jim Featherstone.

LA County is no stranger to emergencies, both natural and man-made. Between wildfires, earthquakes, and the occasional chemical or oil spill, there's a lot going on!

Jim Featherstone has spent decades planning for, responding to, and helping to prepare for all kinds of emergencies. He and Skye will be discussing what response looks like when an emergency or disaster happens, how to be a good neighbor and citizen in difficult times, and what our communities and families can do to prepare and stay safe in times of stress or crisis.

Jim Featherstone is a crisis management veteran with over three decades of experience. He served as Local Disaster Recovery Manager in 2025, a role designated in FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework, and he led the coordinated multi-agency debris-removal mission for the Pacific Palisades Fire.

Previously, Jim served as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Homeland Security Advisory Council. Following his appointment as General Manager of the Los Angeles Emergency Management Department, he led a successful departmental reorganization and restructuring of the city’s emergency management protocols and processes. Jim chaired FEMA’s National Advisory Council from 2008-2018. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Jim began his public service with the Los Angeles Fire Department, where he earned the rank of Interim Fire Chief.

Jim holds a BS in public administration from Union Institute and University and earned an Executive Master of Leadership (EML) from the University of Southern California. He is an alumnus of the Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security and a Senior Fellow in the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s Program on Crisis Leadership.

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