Sarah Hamma Peplowski

About Sarah Hamma Peplowski

With a foundation in emergency management policy, operations, and program leadership, I bring extensive experience coordinating complex response and recovery efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. At FEMA, I serve as a Regional Disaster Operations Coordinator in the Response Division, where I integrate doctrine and best practices into daily operations, manage regional operations readiness and training, improve processes and systems, and deploy in incident support and management roles. Previously as a Program Analyst in FEMA’s Recovery Division, I was a subject matter expert on Public Assistance policy, interpreting and applying the Stafford Act, regulations, and guidance to complex eligibility decisions, advising senior leaders during active disasters, and evaluating and improving policy and program effectiveness.Earlier in my career, I led large-scale public health emergency programs for the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets, statewide COVID-19 testing and contact tracing operations, and teams of up to 420 personnel. I have designed and scaled surge capacity programs, managed high-visibility grants, briefed executive leadership and the Governor’s Office, and served as a public-facing subject matter expert. In the private sector, I managed emergency management software and consulting projects, leading content development, research, and project execution. Across all roles, I consistently apply my strengths in achieving, focus, and discipline to create structure, drive results, and enhance the effectiveness and readiness of emergency management operations.

Experience

1. Regional Disaster Operations Coordinator

   Fema

   Jun 2024 — Present · Lakewood, CO, US

   I currently serve as the Regional Disaster Operations Coordinator for the Response Division’s Operations Integration Branch. In this role, I integrate operations best practices and doctrine into the daily work of regional and field operations. In this role, I- Manage the Operations Cohort for Region 8’s Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC), including creating and implementing a comprehensive engagement and training strategy to ensure the Region is ready to respond to disasters- Deploy in incident support and management roles to enable disaster response and provide comprehensive assistance on response efforts- Increase the efficiency of the Operations Integration Branch through process and system improvements to save time, resources, and human capital- Create new and integrate current doctrine, guides, and manuals into daily operations and future planning to ensure consistent understanding and implementation.

Education

• University of Denver - Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs

  Master of Arts - MA, International Administration

• Boston College

  Bachelor's degree, Political Science and Government