It is often said that Japan is the most prepared country in the world when it comes to planning for—and responding to—natural disasters, says Michael Lee, chief of the Office of Strategy and Innovation at FEMA and an alumnus of Georgetown University. “When you live and work there, you learn that Japan really is a culture of preparedness,” says Lee, who has spent 15 years in the field, including one year in Japan. Here, Lee talks with Tim Frazier, faculty director of the yearlong Executive Master's in Humanitarian Crisis & Emergency Management program, which includes residencies in Tokyo, Doha, and Geneva, about the value of seeing this critical profession from another country’s perspective. “As we move up the ladder—especially as we go into higher levels of management and executive leadership—having these tools is really essential,” Lee says.
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