Arizona Co-Chairs
Kimberly O'Connor
Director
Arizona Department of Homeland Security
Gabe Lavine
Director
Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs
Committee Collaborations
The Emergency Management Committee promotes cross-border coordination in preventing and responding to emergencies, while enhancing emergency management planning throughout the Arizona-Sonora region.
How to Get Involved
The AMC/CSEU binational committees are always looking for new members, passionate about strengthening the ties between Arizona and Mexico. As a committee member you will be surrounded by subject-area experts and business leaders from Arizona and Mexico, coming together to achieve common goals. Join a committee and help us shape policy, and exchange ideas and information through cross-border communication and collaboration.
If you’re interested in learning more about this committee or how to get involved, click here to send us a note and we’ll get you connected.
Committee Executive Summary
The Emergency Management Committee outlines strategic progress and operational directives aimed at reinforcing cross-border emergency resilience between the states of Arizona and Sonora. We have facilitated the successful execution of two bi-national exercises with local partners. A bi-national tabletop exercise held in Yuma tested the enterprises response to probable incidents during the 2026 FIFA World Cup games. A full-scale HAZMAT exercise at the Nogales Port of Entry tested response systems to a technical response impacting cross border travel and commerce. Successful utilization of bi-national mutual aid coordination during 4 major real-world bi-national incidents and updates to the Bi-national Response Plan remain on track.
Action Plans
#1 – Cross-Border Resilience and Response Planning: The Emergency Management Committee continues to strengthen public safety infrastructure across the Arizona-Sonora border region. Through continuous cross-border coordination, both states maintain high operational readiness. The overarching binational response plan remains on schedule, with current capabilities fully sufficient to meet existing milestones without requiring additional administrative support.
#2 – Joint Arizona-Mexico Border Regional Exercises: Local emergency personnel from both sides of the border recently completed a high-level binational field exercise. This operational scenario validated existing communication links and field tactics. Moving forward, the committee will design and schedule additional joint exercises to actively engage Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) members, expand municipal participation, and maintain rapid response capabilities.
#3 – Stakeholder Engagement and Response Optimization: Efforts are underway to maximize local and county-level involvement during routine, non-emergency periods (“blue-sky” conditions). To mitigate the impact of public agency personnel turnover, the committee is deploying dual-channel communication systems utilizing both official administrative channels and informal operational networks. Immediate steps include integrating committee leaders into upcoming regional all-hands meetings and establishing deeper ties with border-county emergency managers.