June 2024 Luncheon - Bracing the Region for Hurricane Season

Description

As hurricane season kicks-off in June, join us for an informative panel on what the Manatee-Sarasota Region is doing to prepare. Hear updates from both county emergency management teams, as well as Florida Power and Light on lessons learned, what they are doing to prepare this year and what your business and home needs to implement to stay safe this season.

Arrive before the program begins to learn from member businesses on resources they offer to help you and your business prepare and recover from a hurricane.

Moderator

Devaney Iglesias, Area Manager
Florida Power & Light

Devaney Iglesias is Florida Power & Light’s Area Manager for Sarasota, Manatee, Desoto, Hardee and Highlands counties. Devaney has been with FPL for over six years and in her current role is responsible for managing strong governmental, business and community relations and supports them in navigating through development projects and new programs. During storm season and/or other emergencies, she serves as FPL’s incident commander at the local emergency operations centers.

Speakers

Chris Aycock, Sr. Director Operations - Distribution Power Delivery
Florida Power & Light

Chris Aycock is Power Delivery’s Senior Director of Distribution at Florida Power & Light Company. In this role, he leads a distribution organization that provides design, construction, engineering, maintenance, and restoration for almost 1.7 million customers across the Gulf Coast of Florida.

In his prior role, Chris served as the Manager of Central Maintenance and Construction at Gulf Power, leading major projects for transmission, distribution and vegetation.

Chris has more than 24 years of Power Delivery experience. He worked for Georgia Power for more than 14 years before accepting a position with Gulf Power in May 2014. Prior to joining Georgia Power, Chris served as a Production Supervisor for Duracell. He also has held various leadership positions in the United States Army, including Captain of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Matthew Myers, FPEM - Chief of Emergency Management
Manatee County Emergency Management

Matt is a born and raised Bay Area Floridian graduating from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Climatology. He started his career with Manatee County in 2017 With ECC before becoming an EM Coordinator in 2018 working activations such as Hurricane Irma, COVID-19, Piney Pointe, Hurricane Ian, and Hurricane Idalia. Matt was promoted to Deputy Chief of Emergency Management in July of 2023 before becoming Acting Chief of Emergency Management in the fall then promoted to Chief of Emergency Management in March of 2024.

Sandra Tapfumaneyi, FPEM, CPM - Chief of Sarasota County Emergency Management

Sandra Tapfumaneyi is the new Chief of Emergency Management for Sarasota County. Sandra has served as Chief of Lee County Emergency Management since January 2021 and was recognized as the Chad Reed Emergency Management Professional of the Year by the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association in 2023.

In 2022, Sandra served as the Incident Commander of the Lee County Emergency Operations Center during Hurricane Ian, one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to hit the United States. Under her leadership, Sandra’s team worked diligently to stabilize the impacted community and successfully manage the massive response from state and federal partner agencies.  In 2019, Sandra served as the Bay County Emergency Operations Center Human Services Branch Director after Category 5 Hurricane Michael made landfall in their community.   

Sandra’s more than 21 years of professional experience includes serving in various roles such as the Director of Lee County Domestic Animal Services, Operations Section Chief for Lee County Emergency Management, an emergency management consultant for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a human rights intern for President Jimmy Carter at the Atlanta-based Carter Center.