Last month, LMU welcomed Jessica Castañon back to the bluff to serve as the new director of emergency management. Having previously spent 10 years at LMU as a public safety lieutenant and emergency management manager, Jessica spent the past two years at California State University, Northridge, and Mount St. Mary’s University before returning to LMU.
LMU This Week recently caught up with Castañon to learn more about her experience, what drew her back to the bluff, and her goals for the university’s emergency preparedness.
What was your original history at LMU?
I previously worked in Public Safety for 10 years as a lieutenant. I helped oversee the day-to-day security operations, including responding to emergency radio calls, coordinating housing fire drills, patrolling campus, and conducting investigations.
I also had the opportunity to establish a cadet program for high school students, and some of my greatest accomplishments at LMU were installing over 30 AEDs [automated external defibrillators] across campus and mentoring our cadets.
Describe your background in Emergency Management. How did you get into this line of work, and what do you like about it?
In 2012, I started supporting the LMU emergency management department while still managing projects for Public Safety. I helped develop the Emergency Response Team and preparedness programs, focusing on strategic planning, incident management, event planning, training, and exercises.
More recently, I served as associate director of campus safety at Mount St. Mary’s University, where I was responsible for developing and implementing tactical plans in response to identified field problems, community concerns, and emerging emergency issues.
There are several reasons why I like working in emergency management. I would have to say what I enjoy the most is the environment. In my experience in law enforcement and emergency management, everyone is willing to pull their sleeves up and work together to coordinate and manage resources and responsibilities pertaining to the mitigation of an emergency.
Have you noticed any shifts in EM during your time in the industry? Anything that’s evolved, that you have to work to stay up to date on?
There has been a significant shift in emergency management with the global pandemic. I have seen an overarching trend across universities where EM has been forced to shift their attention to COVID-19-related efforts, which unfortunately results in low readiness for other emergencies. I believe we need to ensure we’re staying up to date navigating and preparing for other disasters (earthquake, fire, etc.) even during a global pandemic.
What about LMU drew you back in 2022?
I would have to say the people I work with and the relationships I have built over the years. LMU is a beautiful campus – I’m so happy to be able to walk from my office to UHall again and take in the scenery.
What are your priorities and goals for your time at LMU?
I have three main goals: one is to re-establish the ERT program so that our team members feel confident and highly trained to provide safety and emergency preparedness information to students, staff, and faculty; my second goal is to continue to involve outside community agencies in campus emergency exercises (for example, bringing LAFD and LAPD on campus to assist with the annual preparedness fair or active shooter/threat exercise); my third goal is to maintain the existing programs and create new forums to increase personal preparedness within the LMU community.
What do you like doing for fun outside of work?
Outside of work you can find me at the gym and/or going on adventures with my son.
Jessica can be reached at [email protected].
