"A large portion of an emergency manager's time is not doing active response. The administrative burden of writing grants, developing plans, reviewing plans, all of those tasks are what takes up a significant portion of time... So where we would say, hey, these smaller jurisdictions don't have time to go do this [adopt AI tools], the return on investment is almost higher in some of these places." — Jeremy Greenberg Emergency managers at the local level are being asked to do more with less, and artificial intelligence is arriving faster than the guidance for using it. That tension is especially pressing along the Interstate 10 corridor, one of the most disaster-prone regions in the country, where hurricanes, wildfire, flooding and extreme heat arrive as a matter of routine. The Markle Foundation and Aspen Digital, a program of the Aspen Institute, have formed the AI for Disasters and Emergencies Initiative, or AIDE, a multi-sector, nonpartisan collaboration working with the RAND Corporation. Its first year of findings, published this month, points to real potential for human-centered AI to help small agencies stretch thin resources, and to the leadership, training and procurement conditions that make adoption work. An adoption playbook, capacity-building pilots and a summit in Austin this September are all ahead. Jeremy Greenberg, who leads the effort for Aspen Digital, spent twenty-three years in federal emergency management and more than twenty as a volunteer firefighter. He argues the return on AI may be highest in the smallest offices, where one or two people carry grant writing, planning and response on the same desk. He is also candid about the field's harder problem: nobody, he says, has ever held a press conference to celebrate a disaster that didn't happen.In this episode, Greenberg discusses what those findings mean in practice, what the federal shift toward state and local responsibility means for the agencies absorbing it, and where a two-person office should start. Follow the AIDE Initiative's playbook, research and September summit at https://www.aideinitiative.org/ Relevant Articles and Resources AIDE Summit 2026 (Austin, Texas, September 2026)REPORT: "AI for Disasters + Emergencies: A Way Forward" (The Markle Foundation, August 2026)REPORT: "Final Report of the President's Council to Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency" (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, May 2026)"FEMA review signals shift to state-led disaster management" (StateScoop, May 2026)"Markle Foundation initiative aims to bring practical AI tools to emergency management" (StateScoop, June 2026)The AIDE Initiative — jurisdictions can submit input directly through the siteRelevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts AI Series: 10X Cities Are Using Digital Twins to Solve Complex ProblemsWhy the Ten Across Geography Needs FEMA with Dr. Samantha MontanoAI Series: Balancing Data Infrastructure Resource Demands10X Convergence: The Region's Experts Convene to Address the Insurability Crisis Credits Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Bryce Cristiano Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler About our Guest: Jeremy Greenberg is Senior Advisor to Aspen Digital, where he leads the AI for Disasters and Emergencies Initiative, and President of Provincial Strategies LLC, an emergency and risk management consulting firm. He also serves as an Adjunct Instructor in the University of Chicago's Threat and Risk Management Program. He brings more than 23 years of federal service, including five years in the Senior Executive Service, with extensive experience leading national emergency preparedness, response, and risk management efforts. Most recently, Jeremy led FEMA's Response Operations Division, overseeing national capabilities for identifying, alerting, and stabilizing threats and hazards, including the National Watch Center, FEMA Operations Center, National Response Coordination Center, and National Urban Search and Rescue program. He previously served as Chief of the National Response Coordination Center and FEMA Team Leader for the Domestic Emergency Support Team, responding to hundreds of presidentially declared disasters spanning hurricanes, wildfires, cyber incidents, and terrorist attacks. Earlier in his career, Jeremy served in senior policy, performance, external affairs, and emergency management roles at FEMA and the U.S. Department of Transportation. His experience also includes the Department of Homeland Security, Booz Allen Hamilton, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Department of Justice. He holds degrees from American University and the National Defense University's College of International Security Affairs and is a graduate of the National Emergency Management Executive Academy and Harvard's National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. Jeremy has dedicated over 20 years to serving his community as a volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, and instructor.
