Script Writing, film Production

Disaster Assistance Improvement Program - an unfunded executive order issued at the end of the Bush administration.  The goal of this video was to make the case for the importance of this program to the Obama administration. The program required interagency cooperation and funding to be achieved - which it succeeded in doing. It is now DisasterAssistance.gov. 

In May 2008, Tom Cook and his teenage daughter Ryanne survived a catastrophic tornado in Racine, MO, that leveled their home and killed their wife/mother.  Tom and Ryanne moved to a new house in Joplin, MO. Tom built a FEMA safe room in the garage. This decision proved fortuitous when an EF-5 tornado touched down just three years later on May 22, 2011. The storm leveled their home; however, Tom and Ryanne were safe and unharmed. "It was blown away completely - again," Tom said. "The only thing standing was that storm room."  Produced by Janice & Jennifer John for FEMA' Building Science to promote the use of Safe Rooms