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NOAA’s Weather–Ready Nation initiative is about building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events.
In People of Weather–Ready Nation, we sit down with some of the people responsible for building a WeatherReady Nation. We recently talked to Michelle Lammers, a business communications lead for the Raytheon Company.
1. What does a Weather–Ready Nation mean to you?
To me, a Weather-Ready Nation means that people across the country are prepared with the best information available on what to do before, during, and after an extreme weather event strikes. Whether it’s my son here in Denver, my mom in Florida, my best friend and her family in Las Vegas, or my extended family in the DC area, none of us want to see any of our loved ones suffer a weather-related loss. And across America, we all have people we care about who should be informed as part of a Weather-Ready Nation.
2. How are you helping to build a Weather–Ready Nation?
The Raytheon team has worked as a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador with other Ambassadors to deliver a first-of-its-kind set of online weather preparedness modules for adults and children. By coupling Raytheon’s Environmental Intelligence expertise – meaning, our folks who to develop the systems that deliver ever-more accurate and secure weather and climate data, and ultimately forecasts across the country – with our training business expertise, we found a logical way to make a real difference. It’s been such an exciting project to be a part of, and I’m fortunate that my role within Raytheon enabled me to work on this initiative.
3. What is the biggest challenge you see in making the nation ready, responsive, and resilient to extreme events?
I think the most significant challenge any of us faces is the awareness of what matters most in extreme weather events. The modules Raytheon has developed speak to that need; when we were beta testing the courseware, I was surprised to learn that things I considered important weren’t that high of a priority in an extreme weather event. That’s why these modules are so powerful. We’re excited to develop further Weather-Ready Nation partnerships and channels for distribution to help address that awareness challenge.
About:
Michelle Lammers is a business communications lead for the Raytheon Company, and previously held positions in strategy and business development. Prior to joining Raytheon, Michelle worked for the Airbus Group in a variety of general management, business development, strategy, and programmatic roles.
