Codes, Standards, and Community Resilience

Building Safer Communities in a Changing Risk Environment

      

Location Details: IN PERSON ONLY

THIS IS AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION THAN OUR REGULAR MEETINGS
Pauline Espinosa Community Hall - 170 Charles Austin Dr., San Marcos, TX

Program Summary: Model codes and standards and code officials have long played a vital but often unseen role in safeguarding the health, safety, and welfare of our communities. Today, with risks escalating due to severe weather, natural disasters, pandemics, and development in areas exposed to wildfires, the adoption and enforcement of modern codes and integration of codes and code officials into disaster response and recovery has never seemed more urgent.

This seminar explores how modern codes and code officials can serve as powerful tools and partners for enhancing community resilience across all four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. 

Session Summary:

Schedule

9:00 – 9:30

Registration, social and opening remarks

9:30 – 10:15 

The Role of Model Codes in Modern Risk Management

Karl Fippinger, CEM, PMP, Vice President, Fire and Disaster Mitigation, International Code Council

10:15 – 11:00 

Effective Emergency Management

Jim Redick, MPA, CEM, Director, Homeland Security and Emergency Management, City of Austin

11:00 – 11:15 

Break

11:15 – 12:00

Risk Management Strategies for Building Wildfire Resilient Communities

Justice Jones, Fire & Disaster Program Manager, International Code Council

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Lunch Break (BBQ), Business Meeting, and Installation of 2025-26 Officers

President – Kenton Aikens, P.E., CFPS, Interface Engineering

Vice President – Constantino Mendoza, Austin Fire Department

Secretary Treasurer – Scott Ranft, Waxler Fire Protection Engineering

Director - David Emler, Protection Development Inc,  (2-year term)

Director - Cat Childers, P.E., Senez Co. (2-year term)

Director - Jeremy McDonald, P.E., City of San Antonio (1-year remaining term)

Director - Robert Kranz, P.E., Meta Platforms (1-year remaining term)

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Codes and Code Officials in Disaster Response and Recovery

Jim Olk, Building Officials Association of Texas

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM

Partnering for Safer Communities — A Panel Discussion with Case Studies and Guidance on Breaking Silos. This panel will explore proven strategies and real-world examples that illustrate how coordinated relationships, codes, etc. will lead to better outcomes

3:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Closing Remarks

Presenters:

• Karl Fippinger, CEM, PMP, Vice President, Fire and Disaster Mitigation, ICC is ICC's senior executive responsible for leading resilient community advocacy and outreach to the nation’s fire service and emergency management leaders. He is a 30-year veteran of the fire and emergency services, having served as an Assistant Fire Chief with the Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Fire Department in Prince William County, VA as well as an adjunct instructor with the Fairfax County (VA) Fire and Rescue Department. Karl is a Certified Emergency Manager, served as a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Advisory Council, and has more than 25 years of public and private sector experience in federal, state, and local disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.
• Justice Jones, Fire and Disaster Program Manager, ICC is a nationally recognized expert in wildfire mitigation and wildland-urban interface (WUI) risk reduction. He has more than 20 years of experience developing strategic wildfire programs and advancing policy at all levels of government. Prior to joining ICC, Justice led Austin Fire Department’s Wildfire Mitigation Division and previously served as Texas A&M Forest Service’s WUI Program Coordinator. He has extensive experience with hazard mitigation planning and development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) across the country.
• Jim Redick, MPA, CEM, Director of Emergency Management, City of Austin is a Certified Emergency Manager, credentialed by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the IAEM's 2016 Clayton R. Christopher Memorial Award in recognition of "unselfish devotion and outstanding contributions to the field of emergency management" and the Virginia Emergency Management Association's 2017 Stanley Everette Crigger Humanitarian Achievement Award. Additionally, Jim received an Administrator Appointment to FEMA’s Nation Advisory Council in 2022. Jim graduated from Regent University, Old Dominion University, where he just entered his 11th year teaching the Emergency Management and Policy graduate-level course.  He is also a graduate of FEMA’s Executive Academy and the Naval Post Graduate School’s Center of Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leadership Program.
• Jim Olk, Emergency Response Director, Building Officials Association of Texas served as Building Official for the City of Garland, Texas, and he has 40 years of municipal government experience in building inspection and code enforcement. Jim has served on many local, regional and national boards and councils, and following retirement, he is focused on managing the Building Officials Association of Texas Building Professional Institutes (BPI) and Post-disaster Damage Response Team (DRT). The DRT has conducted many post-disaster damage assessments following hurricanes, floods, tornados, extreme hail events and the West fertilizer plant explosion.
• Harry Evan, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Water and the Environment, University of Texas in Austin and Retired Chief of Staff, Austin Fire Department has more than 40 years of experience in public safety and emergency management. In his role at UT, he works as a public safety liaison, connecting scientists and researchers with emergency managers and public safety directors across the State of Texas. His primary focus is the development of decision support tools for emergency response in flood disasters. Prior to joining UT, Harry worked for Austin Fire Department from 1985 to 2015, with progressive promotions to achieve the rank of Assistant Chief in 2009 and serving as Chief of Staff for the department.
• Waheeda Yousofzoy, MPS, CEM, Tri-City Director of Emergency Management leads regional preparedness, response coordination, and interagency collaboration to enhance community resilience in Lakeway, Bee Cave, and The Hills. In this role, she spearheaded the Tri-City Wildfire Task Force, developed all-hazards evacuation planning, coordinated a regional drone exercise during the 2024 Solar Eclipse, and secured over $2.2 million in FEMA reimbursements following Winter Storm Mara. Prior to her current position, Waheeda served as Emergency Management Coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin. Her career also includes roles in the private sector with Chevron and Phillips 66, where she managed large-scale turnaround projects and safety initiatives, as well as Fluor Corporation, where she launched the company’s first Disaster Preparedness Program for Southern California. Waheeda holds a Master’s Degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from Georgetown University and is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) through IAEM.
• Ron Buys, Texas Task Force 1 is a seasoned engineer with 46 years of professional experience spanning civil, environmental, and fire protection disciplines. A graduate of Texas A&M University, his career has taken him from consulting firms in Little Rock, College Station, Houston, and Austin to serving as City Engineer in Brenham, Texas. He served 25 years as a Hazmat and Fire Protection Engineer with the Austin Fire Department, and for the past 28 years, Ron has been an on-call Structural Specialist with Texas Task Force 1. In that capacity, Ron works under the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, contributing to emergency response and disaster resilience across the state. 

GET YOUR CEUs: TFPA members who participate in this program will receive ICC Preferred Provider and TCFP CEU credits. If you're not currently a member, TFPA membership is only $20/year to receive CEUs and other benefits.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE:
September 12th at 5:00 p.m.

(NO REFUNDS FOR CANCELLATIONS AFTER THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE)