HOME
About Eric
Eric Holdeman joined ICF International in 2007 and is a Principal, serving in the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Practice. His areas of expertise include building regional coalitions between agencies, governments, the private sector and non-profits. Regional planning, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) design and construction, multi-media public education programs, Joint Information Center (JIC) formation and operations, media relations, and integration of technology into emergency management and homeland security programs are just a few of the areas in which he has extensive experience. Pandemic flu planning and exercises is another area in which he has experience. In March 2007 he was recognized by Government Technology Magazine as one of the Top 25 people in the nation who, “Challenge convention, confront entrenched bureaucracy and promote innovation.” Eric has a blog at www.disaster-zone.com.
He has also authored numerous articles for professional journals and opinion pieces for local, regional and national newspapers. An experienced and accomplished public speaker he is sought after to present at national and regional conferences.
Prior to joining ICF he was a local emergency management director for King County Washington which is the metropolitan Seattle area. In this position he established the King County Office of Emergency Management as a national leader in many areas emergency management and homeland security. In 2005 King County was given a national award by the National Association of Counties (NACo) for establishing a “Regional Approach to Homeland Security.” Additionally, the 9/11 Commission recognized the King County Regional Disaster Response Plan as a “Best Practice” for integrating the private business sector into community-wide disaster planning.
While leading the King County program the projects he facilitated included: regional homeland security, regional coordination and administration of numerous homeland security grants, including Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants, totaling over $34M; exercise design and participation in the national counter terrorism exercise (TOPOFF 2); regional disaster response, critical infrastructure and mitigation planning processes for King County; construction and occupation of a $30M Regional communications and emergency coordination center; and establishing multi-county mutual aid agreements. King County Washington is known as a national leader in pandemic flu preparedness
Immediately prior to assuming his position in King County he worked for the Washington State Division of Emergency Management for five years. While with Washington State Eric served in a number of increasingly responsible supervisory positions in the areas of operations, training, public education, disaster exercises, and plans. Previously Eric completed a 20-year career in the US Army as an Infantry Officer. While in the military, he served in a variety of demanding assignments in which he developed and managed operation centers and was responsible for contingency planning. Additionally, in other positions he managed community training and developed emergency preparedness exercises. He is a graduate of Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
Eric is a Past President of the Washington State Emergency Management Association (WSEMA). This is a group of public and private emergency managers dedicated to their profession of preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the King County Crisis Clinic and The Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP). He is also on the Advisory Council for the Center for Regional Disaster Resilience and the Pacific Northwest-Advanced National Seismic Safety Region Advisory Committee. In 2008 he joined the Seattle 4 Rotary Club.
Eric is married to Mary (Brower) Holdeman. Their home is in Puyallup, Washington. Eric is also an avid gardener with his home garden being featured in several Sunset Magazine publications. To unwind, he rides a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle (a black, 2004, fuel injected, SOFTAIL, Duce) when he gets some spare time and it is not raining.