Emergency management instructor honored for advocacy

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – David E. Bjorkman, instructor in emergency management/social science at Pennsylvania College of Technology, was honored by the Keystone Emergency Management Association at its inaugural Emergency Preparedness Conference, held recently at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona.

Bjorkman received the Spirit of KEMA Award. The award was established by the KEMA board of directors to recognize KEMA members who have worked tirelessly to advance the association, promote its mission, advocate on its behalf, and forge partnerships that seek to elevate the emergency management profession.

KEMA is a statewide forum for the exchange of ideas, techniques and best practices in emergency management. Membership in the organization is open to emergency management and public safety professionals in local, state or federal government; nonprofit and voluntary organizations; the private sector; and individuals interested in gaining an understanding of comprehensive emergency management in the Commonwealth.

Bjorkman, the lead faculty member for Penn College’s bachelor of science degree in emergency management technology, holds a master’s degree in public health preparedness from Penn State and earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Shippensburg University.

He previously served as the emergency management coordinator for Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, a Level II trauma hospital and regional burn center in Baltimore. In his role as a public health preparedness consultant in central Pennsylvania, he engaged in a deployment at the Southeast District Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Health during the height of the 2009 Novel Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, supporting mass vaccination clinic efforts. Bjorkman also has worked on multiple emergency management planning and exercise projects with a number of state and local emergency management and public health agencies.

Prior to his emergency management career, Bjorkman served as a police officer with the Baltimore City and Penn State police departments.

Penn College’s emergency management technology major, offered on campus or online, prepares graduates to manage the many phases of emergencies, disasters and crises. Emergency management positions exist at all levels of government, in public health departments and health care agencies, in nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and in a broad range of fields from transportation and energy to business and education. Students also can earn up to two minors in applied innovation, business administration, communication studies, criminal justice, digital marketing or management.

For more information about emergency management technology, visit www.pct.edu/em or call the School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications at 570-327-4521.

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free at 800-367-9222.