Benton Best Takes on Campus Emergency Manager Role
“During a disaster is not the time to exchange business cards,” goes an old saying in emergency services, and no one takes that to heart more than our new Campus Emergency Manager, Benton Best. Since starting this October, Benton has been forming relationships with departments across UC Davis— reviewing and preparing action plans with Fire, Police, UC Davis Health and more.
Everyone I meet here is so proactive in their approach to safety and I’m grateful to bring my ideas to a table where everyone is eager to prioritize preparedness.”
Background
Benton comes from a 13-year-long career in emergency management, having worked most recently as Division Chief for California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and County Emergency Manager for Tioga County, Pennsylvania before that.
Having moved over 20 times, throughout six different states, Benton’s had the grand tour of emergency services across the United States. In his travels he’s been able to pick up on best practices and looks forward to sharing what seems to work best.
Among other titles, Benton’s certified as a Firefighter, an EMT, an Amateur Radio Technician, and a CPR Instructor. He considers himself a lifelong learner, so it felt appropriate to work for an education institution, especially one like UC Davis.
There's a lot of groundbreaking stuff happening here at UC Davis and there's an opportunity for emergency management to be in lockstep with that. I’m excited to take what I’ve learned over the years and see how they plug into the existing systems here.”
Plans for UC Davis
Something Benton is looking forward to the most in the upcoming months is improving continuity of operations— ensuring that researchers can maintain essential functions in case disaster strikes. He’ll be supervising a planner and going around each department to update over 200 Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs) in the coming months.
I feel very fortunate to be doing this kind of work at a world-class university— I get to do what I love while learning about cutting-edge research. It’s rewarding to give researchers the peace of mind of preparedness so they can focus on the important work that they do.”
Office Hours
Benton is offering recurring Office Hours in support of anyone working on a UC Davis Emergency Action Plan (EAP), Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan, or other emergency management-related plan.
- Office Hours
Every Tuesday from 11 a.m. - Noon
Zoom Meeting ID: 828 352 3499
One tap mobile: +16694449171,,8283523499#
