By Melissa Trevizo
During COVID-19, many careers are deemed essential—from medical staff to oil and gas industry workers. One career that has been amplified by this pandemic is emergency management.
As the manager of the San Jacinto College Office of Emergency Management, Ali Shah is busier than ever.
Ali Shah, manager of the office of emergency management at San Jacinto College checks in with Diane Zerbe, program director of medical imaging during altered operations for student testing.
“Our office oversees all operations during an emergency,” Shah said. “We work closely with the police department, the Chancellor, technology, facilities services, including cleaning staff, and the College community as a whole. My job is to manage all of that and make sure the pieces are moving as smoothly as possible, streamline the procedure of people coming on campus, and offer high-level guidance on processes.”
Shah, a graduate of Houston Community College, was a firefighter and paramedic before becoming an emergency medical technician (EMT) adjunct instructor at San Jacinto College in 2009 and ultimately being named as the EMT program director. His experience in the emergency field and as a former instructor creates a unique perspective as an emergency manager.
“Feedback is very important to the work I do,” said Shah. “I have daily meetings with the campus operations section, made up of administration from each department across the College, to share updates on what is or isn’t working well. As a group, we come up with a plan that may seem logical to us, but once it’s put into place, we need to know how it worked for those who are living it every day.”
Shah considers this feedback when making calls on what can or cannot happen during crises.
“It is sometimes a challenge to balance what is meant as good intentions with the longer-term effects of an incident,” Shah said. “It is so refreshing how many people across San Jacinto College are invested in the success of our students. It becomes a happy challenge to temper that with the proper recommendations for whatever we are dealing with.”
The same level of input is as important to Shah during a mass crisis like the pandemic and smaller local situations.
“It’s always surprising to me the level of trust that my executive leadership has in me. It’s refreshing to know that the decisions I make are backed up by those around me,” Shah said. “If I recommend something, they take me at my word.”
That trust is well-earned. Shah came into the role of emergency manager two days before the onslaught of Hurricane Harvey, thrusting him into a quick learning curve.
“About a week before I started I met with our safety director about a transition plan for me to leave my program director position and move to emergency management,” Shah said. “All of that changed when Harvey altered its course. My first day on the job and Harvey’s landfall was one and the same. It was quite a trial by fire.”
Aside from crisis response, Shah is also a large proponent of emergency preparedness.
“When people think of the office of emergency management, they think of some top-secret dark room with fancy equipment, but it is quite the opposite,” said Shah. “We have an open, forward- facing department. A lot of our work is based on education and outreach. It can’t be stressed enough that learning the procedures before something happens is the best way to be prepared.”
To learn more about the San Jacinto College Office of Emergency Management visit, sanjac.edu/oem.
