Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Michelle Oblinsky, CEM has extensive experience in emergency management and GIS analysis. Michelle currently serves as the Deputy Coordinator / Bureau Chief of the Virginia Emergency Operations Center for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. In this role, they supervise 5 VEST Coordinators and collaborates with multiple state agencies. Michelle also holds the position of Certification Commissioner for IAEM.
Previously, Michelle held leadership roles in the Virginia Emergency Management Association, including President and First Vice President. Michelle has also worked as the Deputy Coordinator of Emergency Management for Chesterfield County, where they chaired the Mass Care Committee and served as the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Coordinator.
Michelle has a background in GIS analysis, having worked as the EM Senior Planner / GIS Coordinator for the City of Chesapeake. Michelle has also provided GIS expertise as a GIS Consultant for Earth Tech and as a Senior GIS Analyst for the City of Chesapeake Department of Information Technology.
Throughout their career, Michelle has demonstrated a commitment to training and preparedness, regularly providing training programs and support in emergency readiness.
Michelle Oblinsky, CEM, holds a Master of Arts degree in Geography/Planning from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, which they obtained from 1995 to 1997. Prior to that, they earned a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Affairs/Planning from Virginia Tech, completing their studies from 1990 to 1995. In terms of professional development, Michelle has achieved the Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) certification from the International Association of Emergency Managers in March 2008. Furthermore, they have attended the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy at the Emergency Management Institute, affiliated with FEMA, from 2017 to 2018. Most recently, in 2019, Michelle completed the Executive Academy at the Emergency Management Institute to further specialize in Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management.
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Virginia Department of Emergency Management
The Virginia Department of Emergency protects the lives and property of Virginia's citizens from emergencies and disasters by coordinating the state's emergency preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery efforts. VDEM works with local government, state and federal agencies, private companies and voluntary organizations to perform this mission. The opinions expressed by visitors on the Virginia Department of Emergency Management's (VDEM) LinkedIn page do not reflect the opinions of VDEM. Public comments are monitored by VDEM, which reserves the right to remove/delete public comments that are abusive, discriminatory, vulgar and/or threatening in nature to an individual or to the Department. VDEM reserves the right to block/ban anyone who is repeatedly abusive, discriminatory, vulgar and/or threatening in their postings. Solicitations of any form will be promptly removed from VDEM's LinkedIn page, as the Department is prohibited from the endorsement and/or promotion of any particular product, individual, political affiliation, etc.