Trabuco Canyon |
 |
Deputy Chairman of Trabuco Canyon Neil Blais |
Mr. Blais has over twenty years of experience in the area of project management and policy development. He began his career in the aerospace industry working for Lockheed Aircraft and then McDonnell Douglas. While at McDonnell Douglas, Mr. Blais was responsible for coordinating all major engineering changes to the MD-80 aircraft, which required interfacing with over 2,000 engineers and maintaining a detailed understanding of the aircraft's system.
Mr. Blais translated his knowledge of engineering and project management into the risk management arena following the Northridge Earthquake of 1994. Working for what was then EQE International, which was later acquired by ABS Consulting, Mr. Blais worked in the Disaster Field Office assisting the Governor's Office of Emergency Management.
As a Vice President of ABS Consulting, Mr. Blais leads a network of professionals on a variety of U.S.-based and international risk management projects. His team of professionals work in the following disciplines: hazard mitigation planning, flood risk assessment, earthquake risk assessment, software development, vulnerability analysis, data development and analysis, benefit cost analysis, emergency response and recovery planning and management, business and government continuity and contingency planning, terrorism planning, geographic information systems, and long-term mitigation strategy identification. Mr. Blais serves also as an integral member of the company's executive-level strategic planning team, which sets the vision for its 750 employees.
His greatest love is policy development and helping U.S. cities and counties plan for or recover from disasters. Mr. Blais assisted Princeville, North Carolina, the oldest chartered African-American Community in America, to rebuild following Hurricane Floyd. He worked with Grand Forks, North Dakota following the Red River Flood of 1997 and tornado-sticken communities in Missouri and Arkansas. He worked with the County of Mecklenburg, North Carolina, by performing the first of its kind watershed loss estimation analysis to help identify the impacts of remapping flood watersheds on existing structures and future development. Mr. Blais also spearheaded the development of FEMA's $6 million HAZUS Flood Loss Estimation Tool. Internationally, he has worked in Saudi Arabia to evaluate Saudi Aramco's risk in the oil industry and he is now leading a team of professionals in Turkey who are assisting cities with hazard mitigation planning.
Get Involved with a local Republican Club
Brief History
Links & Resources
» Return to What's Going on in Your City
