Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Russell.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I had a pretty normal upbringing. I grew up in South St. Louis County. For those who need to know, I went to Mehlville Senior High School. I started out with the usual high school jobs at the mall and after graduation, started taking classes at St. Louis Community College. I worked at Six Flags for several summers and made a big jump to a job at the Anheuser-Busch Tour Center. At about the same time, I switched schools shortly after that, taking night classes at Webster University and graduating in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications. I was promoted several times at the brewery, finally becoming the Safety Training Coordinator at the St. Louis Brewery Plant.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
In 2009, after the brewery was bought out by InBev, I was laid off and spent over a year unemployed and looking for work. I applied for what I thought was an interesting position with the City of St. Louis in emergency management. I knew quite a bit about safety and different training topics and OSHA regulations, but when I started, I had a lot of learning to do about what it takes to prepare a city for a disaster. My period of unemployment gave me perspective and makes me better positioned to understand the challenges for those who are not employed or are under-employed. This is very important when considering emergency planning and recovery. I was excited to come to work for the City of St. Louis and to serve my neighbors, and I still feel that way today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I recently earned the title of Commissioner of Emergency Management for the City of St. Louis. I have worked for the Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) for more than 11 years, and it is an honor and pleasure to serve the people of St. Louis in this capacity. I specialize in all things disasters and am also considered an expert in government social media. Communication is so important in everything we do and is vital in emergencies. I am happy to serve as a go-to for questions or tips from anyone trying to make information available to our residents and neighbors.
Fortunately, many in St. Louis have limited experience with major disasters. Everyone has felt some impact from COVID-19, and that helps us raise awareness and be able to encourage everyone to have an emergency plan, so they know what to do when their “normal” is disrupted. I have worked diligently to educate St. Louis on where to get help in making a plan, building an emergency kit of supplies, and receiving notifications.
I am proud to be the commissioner of this important agency, but my proudest moment is the day that I was able to announce to the City of St. Louis that we were implementing a new mass notification tool, known as NotifySTL, to help alert anyone in the City of dangerous situations. This tool was a labor of love for me personally and to finally be able to say it was done and present it to our residents was fantastic.
Working in emergency management sets me apart from many other government employees in that I get to work with individual departments, residents, volunteer organizations, and private industry. I am a key player in building relationships with all of those groups of people so that we can work together during a crisis. These relationships are so important, and I am fortunate to be able to work with so many great partners for the safety of our community here in St. Louis.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was a very quiet, independent child. I feel like I didn’t really talk much until I became a teenager, and I haven’t shut up since. I have always been interested in history and science, which makes helps me fit right in among emergency managers. I was very interested in music and grew up participating in several bands right up until the COVID shutdown. I even performed in the second Inauguration for President Obama.
Contact Info:
- Email: russells@stlouis-mo.gov
- Website: www.stlouis-mo.gov/ema
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stlcityema/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STLHSEMA
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CityEMA
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjWp_ak2AReYSH-Dnywy2Qw
