2026 Symposium Agenda (mobile-friendly!)
9:00 am - 12:30 pmRCPGP TTX
Seaside Conference Room 4/5Shore Counties and Baltimore Urban Area Security Initiative Jurisdictions Only
1:00 pm - 4:00 pmIAEM Testing
Atlantic BallroomTest begins promptly at 2:00 pm
1:00 pm - 5:00 pmPre-Conference Session: Leading Across Boundaries
Seaside Conference Room 4/5Building Teams That Deliver When It Matters Most: McChrystal Group
2:30 pm - 4:00 pmPre-Conference Session: Maryland Qualification System Workshop
Seaside Conference Room 6Technical Assistance Workshop presented by MDEM
3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Registration OPEN
1st Floor Atrium5:00 pm - 7:00 pmVendor Welcome Reception
Tideline BallroomDrinks + Hors d'oeuvres + Vendor Booths + Silent Auction Preview
7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Registration OPEN
1st Floor Atrium7:30 am - 9:00 amBreakfast
Tideline BallroomVendor Booths + Silent Auction
9:00 am - 9:15 amWelcome / Opening Remarks
Atlantic BallroomEmily Wesselhoff (MDEMA President) & Russ Strickland (MDEM Secretary)
9:15 am - 10:00 amKeynote Presentation
Atlantic BallroomDivision Chief Jeremy Knighton, Asheville Fire Dept
10:00 am - 10:15 am: Coffee & Water (Tideline Ballroom)
10:15 am - 11:00 amPlenary Session A
Atlantic BallroomPanel: Family Assistance Centers After Transportation Disasters
11:00 am - 11:45 amPlenary Session B
Atlantic BallroomPanel: Cyber Incident Coordination is a "People Product"
11:45 am - 1:00 pmLunch
Tideline BallroomIAEM Sponsored Lunch + Vendor Booths + Silent Auction
12:30 pm - 1:00 pmMDStorm Ready Board Meeting
Atlantic BallroomChris Strong, NWS, and invited individuals only
AtlanticOne-Stop-Shop for Outbreak Response
Seaside Conference Room 1Advancing State and Local Dam Safety
Seaside Conference Room 2Virtual JIC: No Budget, No Problem
Seaside Conference Room 3From Mandate to Mission: Building Strategy
Seaside Conference Room 4Maryland's Roadmap to Resilience **NOTE ROOM CHANGE**
Seaside Conference Room 5Disaster Volunteers: Force Multiplier
AtlanticIntel Sharing During Law Enforcement Events
Seaside Conference Room 1FEMA's RAPT: Community Snapshots
Seaside Conference Room 2Resilience Debt in EM
Seaside Conference Room 3Taking the Heat Off 911 (Howard Co)
Seaside Conference Room 5Healthcare Communication Restoration
AtlanticReining in AI FOMO!
Seaside Conference Room 1Recovering Without Federal Resources
Seaside Conference Room 2Daily Operations Branch in Incident Management
Seaside Conference Room 3EM for Campus Leaders
Seaside Conference Room 5AI Transformations in NWS
3:45 pm: Coffee & 40th Anniversary Cake (Tideline Ballroom)
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
MDEMA Meeting & Elections
Atlantic Ballroom6:00 pm - 9:00 pmEvening Activity: Cornhole
Shore DeckHeavy Hors d'oeuvres + Beverages
7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Registration OPEN
1st Floor Atrium7:30 am - 9:00 amBreakfast
Tideline BallroomVendor Booths + Silent Auction
9:00 am - 9:45 amAwards Ceremony
Atlantic BallroomAssociation Awards and Scholarship Winners
9:45 am - 10:00 am: Break / Photo Opportunity
10:00 am - 11:00 amPlenary Session C
Atlantic BallroomNavigating FEMA Reform
11:00 am - 12:00 pmPlenary Session D
Atlantic BallroomPanel: May 2025 Flooding in Western MD
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch (Silent Auction Ends at 1pm)
Tideline Ballroom12:30 pm - 1:00 pm
Shore Planners Meeting
Atlantic BallroomAtlanticOptimizing Damage Assessment
Seaside Conference Room 1Heat Mitigation in Baltimore
Seaside Conference Room 2Data-Driven Activation Tracking
Seaside Conference Room 3Flooding and Water Quality
Seaside Conference Room 4Local Government CIKR Planning **NOTE ROOM CHANGE**
Seaside Conference Room 5Strengthening CERT Programs
AtlanticCIKR Protection Fundamentals
Seaside Conference Room 1Embracing the Whole Community
Seaside Conference Room 2COOP, COG, and EOP Overlap
Seaside Conference Room 3Huddling for Safety (Emperor Penguins)
Seaside Conference Room 52026 MD Threat Update
AtlanticPlanning in Pictures
Seaside Conference Room 1Frederick County Transition Support
Seaside Conference Room 2Heat Illness Mass Notification
Seaside Conference Room 3The Quiet Crisis in Safety Training
Seaside Conference Room 5Resilience Complexity
4:00 pm - 5:00 pmLocal EM Directors Meeting
Atlantic BallroomSecretary Strickland and Local Directors
7:00 pm - 10:00 pmTrivia Night!
Tideline BallroomBeverages + Hors d'oeuvres (Come thirsty!)
8:00 am - 9:00 am
Registration OPEN
Terrace Lobby9:00 am - 10:30 am
Farewell Brunch
Atlantic Ballroom & Seaside Conference Room 2/310:30 am - 11:15 am
Plenary E: Best of Show
Atlantic Ballroom11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Plenary F: AI Disinformation
Atlantic Ballroom12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
Closing Remarks & Adjourn
12:30 pm
Board Transition Meeting
TBD
