Introducing Hood River County’s new Emergency and Resilience Program Manager

In mid-March, Hood River County welcomed Katie Skakel as the new Emergency and Resilience Program Manager. A strategic resilience and land use planner with 35 years of cross-sector expertise, Skakel specializes in hazard mitigation, floodplain management, and climate adaptation. Throughout her career, she has effectively bridged the gap between federal policy and local implementation by championing a "whole community" approach to disaster risk reduction.

Her professional background includes several impactful roles, notably serving as the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator for a NIST-funded Center of Excellence involving 14 universities. She has also served as a Hazard Mitigation Specialist with FEMA Region X and held planning positions with the Columbia River Gorge Commission and both Hood River and Multnomah Counties. Additionally, her experience at the state level includes serving as the Regional Planner and State Hazard Mitigation Officer for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management.

Emergency and Resilience Program Manager Katie Skakel

Skakel’s technical expertise is supported by an academic foundation that includes a B.S. from St. Lawrence University and with completed advanced studies in Environmental Law and Land Use Planning at Tufts University, Soil Science and Wetland Delineation at UMass Amherst, and Site Planning and Design at Portland State University. Furthermore, she is a Certified Climate Change Professional, Resilience Hub Certified and has additional certifications in climate funding, as well as FEMA emergency management certifications. Currently, Katie participates in the 1000 Friends Land Use Leadership Initiative (LULI) Cohort, which delves into the challenges and successes of the Oregon Land Use Program.

Driven by a passion for holistic community planning, Skakel focuses on collaborating with local stakeholders to navigate the complexities of climate change and natural disasters while working to break the cycle of disaster dependence. Her vision for Hood River County extends to economic resilience, where she is particularly dedicated to bolstering local farmers' markets, addressing housing needs for future generations, resilience, lifeline and transportation plans.

Katie is excited to be back in Hood River County and emphasizes, “Resilience is more than just ‘withstanding’ a storm—it’s about a community’s ability to be prepared for, to have a coordinated response, and to restore and improve vital functions like schools, hospitals, and local businesses.”