Jim Chesnutt is president and chief communications strategist
of Nusura, an emergency management consulting firm. For more than 17 years
he has worked in emergency management at the local, state and federal level.
From 1999 to 2005 he served as the FEMA Region VIII deputy public affairs
officer. He was responsible for coordinating public information, media
relations, community outreach, congressional relations and intergovernmental
affairs for more than 30 major disasters.
Chesnutt was one of FEMA’s initial team of four people that led public
affairs and media relations following the 9/11 attacks on the World
Trade
Center.
He also served as a public affairs officer for the federal rescue effort
following Hurricane Katrina in
New Orleans. He
later transitioned to the position of special assistant to the U.S. Coast Guard’s
Admiral Thad Allen during the recovery phase.
Chesnutt left FEMA to work on humanitarian emergencies in
Africa and Southeast Asia and to focus
domestically on issues related to emergency planning and communications
strategies for vulnerable populations. He also provided strategic
communications support to the City and County of Denver
for the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
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