Becky Blankenship is a public relations practitioner with specialized skills in meeting management and media relations. She is a Certified Government Meeting Planner with the Society of Government Meeting Professionals. As an outreach team member for the FEMA HAZUS Program, Becky plans conferences, handles media relations as well as overall communications for the Program. She is also the meeting planner for the upcoming Annual HAZUS Conference, August 2010, scheduled to be held in the Midwest.

In February of 2009, Becky worked with the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency to showcase the success of their hard work during the Midwest floods in minimizing flood-related casualties. She conducted interviews and prepared an award package that received "Honorable Mention" for the National 2009 James Lee Witt Local Award for Excellence in Floodplain Management presented by the Association of State Floodplain Managers. To raise awareness and enhance the credibility of HAZUS-MH technology, Becky successfully pitched and placed several articles in trade publications on how HAZUS-MH is being used to model the damages from future flood, wind and earthquakes so that communities can take proactive steps to manage their risk.

Becky sets up and serves as site administrator for Microsoft SharePoint sites-providing training, phone support and the creation of user manuals for clients. She also works as a technical editor for the Disaster Assistance Improvement Program, Executive Order 13411: "Improving Disaster Assistance for Disaster Victims".

Prior to her career at Outreach Process Partners, Becky was public relations manager for the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA)-a Washington, DC-based trade association. Becky planned numerous meetings at ANLA, including executive retreats each year for the Board of Directors. She also planned the ANLA Summer Leadership Meeting in DC. Becky was staff photographer during events as well.

Becky and her team led a nine-month campaign promoting the 2007 Management Clinic that resulted in a 38% increase in meeting attendance-breaking a six-year trend of "low" attendance. She helped secure more than $100,000 in print and electronic ads, free-of-charge, by creating meaningful content and "catchy" promotional advertisements.

Becky earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts with a public relations emphasis and minor in marketing from Salisbury University in Maryland. She is a member of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals and the Professional Convention Management Association.

Next: Lindsey Athanitis