Joel Yonkman

Emergency Management · Continuity · Incident Command

Joel Yonkman

Thirty years in emergency response, from the fire service and tactical EMS to federal disaster operations. Today I help critical infrastructure operators plan, train and respond.

About

Joel Yonkman has worked in emergency response for more than three decades, starting in the fire service and EMS and moving into federal disaster operations and planning.

From 2019 to 2023 he served as Planning Section Chief on FEMA Region VI's Type 2 Incident Management Assistance Team, deploying across Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He was one of two FEMA instructors teaching the Incident Command System to the agency's IMAT workforce, and earlier spent several years as a primary instructor at the DHS Center for Domestic Preparedness. He later managed development of a geospatial disaster-impact dashboard for FEMA.

He now leads E.R.G.S.S., an emergency management and continuity firm that supports data centers, utilities, energy projects and the communities that host them.

Record

  1. 2005 – present

    Owner and Principal Consultant

    Emergency Response & Global Security Solutions (E.R.G.S.S.)

    Emergency plans, ICS/NIMS training, exercise design and incident-management support for critical infrastructure, government and healthcare.

  2. 2023 – 2025

    Project Manager

    Global Consulting International, supporting FEMA

    Led development of FEMA's Business Economic Analysis Dashboard, which uses geospatial data to assess disaster impacts and guide recovery.

  3. 2019 – 2023

    Planning Section Chief, Type 2 IMAT

    FEMA Region VI · Denton, Texas

    Incident action planning for Stafford Act disasters across five states; one of two FEMA ICS instructors for IMAT personnel.

  4. 1992 – 2015

    Critical Care / SWAT Paramedic Supervisor

    North Flight EMS · Northern Michigan

    Seventeen years as a tactical paramedic with two teams covering 17 counties; state-licensed EMS instructor coordinator.

  5. 2001 – 2008

    Director of Emergency Services

    Baker College

    Directed paramedic and fire service education statewide and built the college's online emergency services degree.

Selected work

DFW International AirportContinuity and pandemic planning, with tabletop and functional exercises
Deepwater Horizon · Enbridge MarshallOil spill response operations
Florida Power & LightICS-300/400 training with tabletop exercises
Fidelity InvestmentsIncident command training, Boston
Malawi national electric utilityBusiness continuity and disaster response training
DHS Center for Domestic PreparednessPrimary instructor and capstone exercise lead, Anniston, Alabama

Education & publication

Education

  • M.S., Disaster Medicine and Management, Philadelphia University
  • Bachelor's degree, Business Leadership, Baker College
  • Executive Mass Casualty program, Jerusalem
  • Strategic Intelligence and Counter-Terror workshop, Jerusalem

Publication

  • Co-author, study of CDC COVID-19 testing, isolation and quarantine recommendations at emergency intake sites for unaccompanied children. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2023.

Contact

For consulting, speaking or media requests, email directly.

jyonkman@ergss.com