Mark Silva, The Chicago Tribune, August 18, 2007
WASHINGTON – Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans, Michael Brown, who bore the brunt of the criticism for the federal response to the storm, has moved into a career promoting disaster-response and data-mining technology for government agencies and private customers.
Brown, who served as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency when Katrina blasted New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, has not returned to New Orleans in nearly two years. His last stop was on Sept. 11, 2005, the day before he resigned under pressure.
The next time he sees New Orleans, Brown ruefully suggests, it may be in response to lawsuits resulting from Katrina, which left more than 1,000 dead and tens of thousands homeless.
But while Brown may be gone from government, some of the private companies he now represents say they stand ready to help the government cope with new storms barreling into the Gulf of Mexico, as well as other potential disasters.
Living in Boulder, Colo., Brown has become a traveling salesman for companies selling computer software, high-tech machinery and communications technology. One of the companies focuses on anti-terrorism efforts, trying to help airlines detect potentially dangerous patterns among the flying public. Others specialize in Brown’s old field of disaster response, helping communities rebuild and providing technology so the military and first responders can manage casualties on the ground.
“I probably, at any one time, have a half-dozen clients involved in different things having to do with homeland security or government in general,” Brown said in an interview. “I am called corporate adviser. Some places, I am called vice president for corporate relations. I am called all kinds of names.”
Those who can, do.
Those who can’t become consultants.
Comment by dr.luba — August 18, 2007 @ 12:21 pm