Mark Saur

Background

About Mark Saur

As an alumni of San Francisco State University, I saw firsthand the outcome of hazards surrounding the campus, especially during the annual wildfires and the pandemic that took hold of everyone's well-being. Therefore, as an OES coordinator, my goal is to proactively prepare and help advocate for the campus's safety alongside the staff and students who reside in it by providing appropriate recommendations to their Emergency Operations Plan and providing the proper emergency advocacy to inform the campus stakeholders. Furthermore, as a person who assisted with the capacity-building response with the SF Marin food bank during my time with the AmeriCorps, I understand the importance of preparation and response to disasters, especially during the pandemic which caused the community of San Francisco gravely. As a current Emergency Management Administration graduate student, I have learned a lot about the importance of resiliency and preparation, especially when navigating and reviewing an organization's capability to react to disaster. I successfully created a Crisis Communication Plan for Fort Mcdermitt and Shoshone Tribe throughout the program, where I communicated and supported the Tribe's need for preparation from disasters. During all of these, I was helping the SF Marin Foodbank with their capacity building by recruiting community members from different organizations in the city of San Francisco. As a result, I know the importance of capacity building within the community and advocacy of emergency preparedness, especially when implementing the theories that I learned about emergency management into practice during my time with the food bank during this pandemic. I have dedicated my graduate studies in emergency management and stepped up during a crisis (COVID 19 and wildfires) to serve a year of service in AmeriCorps VISTA while applying to accommodate emergencies. With my community advocacy and emergency preparedness experience, I have what it takes to assist and provide administrative support to the OES Director as needed to ensure that San Francisco State University is trained and well-equipped to respond to any emergencies.