WASHINGTON In an administration where inexperience runs rampant and its acceptable to vehemently oppose the very agency youve been tasked with running, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William Brock Long stands out as exceptionally competent.

In an event like Hurricane Harvey, Long is probably one of the best prepared (people) that the country could ask for , Mark Merritt, a co-founder of a disaster cleanup consulting firm and a former FEMA official under President Bill Clinton , told The Associated Press.

The man who oversees the federal governments response to natural disasters has received accolades from environmentalists , who see him as someone who will work toward better preparing the country for climate change-driven extreme weather , as Bloomberg reported in June. During a Senate confirmation hearing, Long said, If we ultimately want to reduce costs in the future for disasters, we have to do more mitigation.

Long has nearly two decades of experience working in emergency management and planning, including numerous natural disasters and Alabamas response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. Before serving as director of Alabamas Emergency Management Agency from 2008 to 2011, he worked at FEMA as both a regional hurricane program leader and an evacuation liaison team leader.