Disaster Recovery Journal Winter 2024

CAREER SPOTLIGHT

and its context by being familiar with the financial, behavioral, cultural, and other aspects that influence the success of our program, especially in complex and ever-changing environments. In addi tion to continuous learning in business continuity and emergency management, I have a master’s degree in administration and a Ph.D. in information sciences. My research and dissertation focused on the application of discrete simulation model ing to evaluate business continuity plans. I also completed the chief risk officer program at Carnegie Mellon University to gain insights on integrating business and cyber resiliency into the overall enterprise risk portfolio and obtained the Project Management Professional certification. For networking, I participate in professional forums and organizations, collaborate with emergency planning and response organizations such as FEMA, FBI (InfraGard), and other local and

national agencies and peer institutions. Connecting and collaborating are essen tial to advancing your career and your program. What gets you excited about your career? The work we do matters and makes a difference. I enjoy collaborating with others and continuously finding ways to improve what we do. For those of us who have experienced disasters and seen plans in action, the effort is rewarding, knowing it makes a real impact. What advice would you give to those embarking on a career in this industry? Like any profession, your journey will have ups and downs. You have the power to set your direction. Become an expert in our field, but never forget our mission is accomplished through people and their trust. It becomes more important when you become a leader and in times of crisis as people will look up to you. Build emotional intelligence, keep

your cool. In our field people want to see you keeping calm and providing confi dence. Try your best to be positive, set achievable goals, exceed them, and get things done. Respect people, be willing to embrace and promote change and con tinuous improvement, build partnerships, learn to manage uncertainty, and know things are never that bad. Finally, have fun. What you do matters. We only have one life to do it. v ting the most value out of Fusion’s risk and resiliency solu tions, industry thought leadership and best practices. Prior to joining Fusion in 2024, Lucht was at Carnegie Mellon University for nearly 12 years, serving as the associate vice president and chief risk officer since 2018. Lucht is a Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP), a member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI), a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Certified Continuity Manager (CCM) and holds the Associate for Risk Management (ARM) designation. Melanie Lucht is the vice president of cus tomer success at Fusion Risk Management. She leads a team of customer success managers who support and advocate for customers on their resilience journey, get

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