Before January, Pearl River County Fire and Emergency Management Director Danny Manley was unaware that EMAs could acquire a Certified Emergency Disaster Professional certification.
But once Manley heard about it, it didn’t take long to pursue the certification, taking the required exam on Jan. 17 along with one other emergency management director from Jackson County. Manley learned that he passed the exam earlier this week, he said.
The International Board for Certification of Safety Managers launched the credential so those working in the public, private and governmental emergency and disaster professions could meet the need for a professional national credential, according to the IBCSM website.
Each candidate must pass a lengthy exam to acquire the credential, which addresses topics such as emergency standards and best practices from reliable organizations like FEMA and OSHA, the IBCSM website states.
“There aren’t too many CEDP members in the nation, but acquiring this credential is fairly new to a lot of emergency and disaster management directors,” Manley said.
According to the CEDP website, there are 29 total CEDP members, representing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Wisconsin and, just recently, Mississippi, bumping the total number of members to 31.
Emergency management is a growing profession, and as more colleges and universities offer a degree in the field, Manley said more emergency organizations, associations and lobbying bodies want to see emergency and disaster directors receive the CEDP certification, which shows their proficiency in the profession.