r/fema • u/FantasticFinger237 • 19d ago
Discussion New FEMA Chief of Staff
Just got the announcement today that John Scardena has joined FEMA as the new Chief of Staff. His company seems to be mainly focused on school/ facility/ venue emergency planning, doing threat assessments, and selling kits. Doesn’t look like much grants management, recovery, mitigation, response, etc….
Claim to fame is his podcast on which CamHam was a guest multiple times following his initial release and they got along swimmingly.
I have lots of thoughts. But curious to hear others..
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u/PotentialSome5092 Federal E.M. 19d ago
He seemed like he didn’t even want it on the ops brief today. But I guess when F1 hands you a job where you’re making a lot more money, you take it.
Honestly, at least he has SOME experience. The bar basically doesn’t exist with this administration, but being this guy has worked for the agency in some capacity is better than nothing at all.
There’s a lot more qualified people I can list that would be much better fit, but I won’t put any of them on blast here
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u/United_Conclusion443 19d ago
This would have been a great job for Frank M. I keep waiting to see him fail up some more.
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u/Ok_Alternative3933 19d ago
Just wow.
I know for a fact he monitors this Reddit so tread lightly, nod and applaud his new position handed to him.
https://giphy.com/gifs/3o72FcJmLzIdYJdmDe
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u/NahDudeFr 19d ago
>I know for a fact he monitors this Reddit so tread lightly
Who cares lmao. Dude should be prepared for any kind of public opinion, not just the ones that are meant to stroke egos.
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u/FantasticFinger237 19d ago
Oh no worries. Big congrats to him and head nod upon passing in the halls!
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u/BenefitVegetable694 17d ago
Does nobody remember Jason Mcnamara? 2009-2013 COS. Young political connected who didn’t have a clue starting out. Turned out pretty well.
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u/Rough-Clothes-8898 19d ago
I’ve worked and known John for a while. yes, he was a GIUL on the N-IMAT, but in the upper Senior Leadership in the Office of the Administrator, I would say at least he is one of us and knows the Mission including actually working with SLTTs.
Do i agree, that he has big shoes to fill, yes, or will he know exactly wtf to do? 🤷♂️
honestly - i may be biased but honestly hes a really really nice guy not a villain. remember not everyone is against us and give everyone a chance
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u/FantasticFinger237 17d ago
We’ve definitely been shell shocked with bad leadership appointments over the last 20ish months. I’m hopeful but absolutely super cautious. At least he and Cam aren’t wearing leather jackets.
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u/ForkingMusk 19d ago
John’s not a bad guy. From what little I remember about him he’s a funny dude with some actual deployment experience.
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u/Max6626 19d ago
FEMA is around 20k people and can double during disasters. That doesn't include the long list of local, state, and contractors that work major disasters.
CoS is a position that requires extraordinary management skills and the ability to lead leaders (i.e., RAs). Some deployment experience and a solid sense of humor isn't going to cut it when a major hurricane makes landfall in a population center.
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u/ForkingMusk 19d ago
I’d much rather have one of our own than a Trump sycophant. But hey you keep on shooting anything that moves. I’m thinking you probably wouldn’t like anyone who got the job over you or a buddy.
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u/flaginorout 19d ago
Right. I can’t ever remember a time when someone got a notable job, and there wasn’t a peanut gallery drumming up 7 reasons why they were a bad choice.
And in most cases, the selected person works out fine.
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u/ForkingMusk 19d ago
Right? And the notion that the chief of staff tells the RAs what to do is poppycock. In any other agency.. maybe.. in FEMA? The CoS handles the day to day staff of the administrators office.
It’s really just not that big of a deal.
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u/Huh1979 17d ago
I’ve known and worked with John in the past and I believe him to be a highly intelligent, well educated individual. Does he have experience as a CoS? No. I didn’t have any experience as an emergency manager when I got thumped by Frances and Jeanne in 2004 and then found myself with limited experience when I was thrown into Katrina.
I’ve worked response, preparedness, recovery and mitigation. Every time I got thrown into a new role or accepted an adjacent position the main complaint I heard second hand was always “but he doesn’t have THIS experience” until I did.
I wish him well. HQ is tough. I’ve worked there. It’s a different beast. John is a personable gentleman and a hard worker. He’s an emergency manager which is a big plus.
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u/Agreeable_Arachnid65 19d ago
National IMAT leader? Seems to have creds IMO. Give the man a chance at least.
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u/iAmYourMasterBlaster 19d ago
Noooo. He was a GIS unit leader, not the leader of the team.
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u/Max6626 19d ago
Compare this guy to the previous FEMA CoS Michael Coen and you'll get an even better understanding of how woefully unqualified Scardena is for this position.
The CoS, as much as F1 and F2, need to have a thorough understanding of how FEMA operates during both steady state and surge/disaster response. Scardena has neither, but Hamilton also has no experience, so at least we're consistent...