Throughout United States history, there have been numerous directors of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), many of whom had different leadership styles. There are those who are remembered for their achievements while others may be remembered for their lack of performance. One of the FEMA directors who performed remarkably well during a major emergency crisis in the United States was Craig Fugate, during the Obama administration, when Hurricane Sandy struck. Craig is known for his philosophy of “whole community response,” which seeks to decentralize disaster management from the federal government and involve the private sector, citizens, and volunteers (Cecchine, G. 2013). This philosophy aims to address glaring weaknesses in how the government responds to disasters, as evidenced by Hurricane Katrina. Craig revolutionized the way the disaster would be managed by taking a leadership role and including other people and organizations in the system. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The role of leader meant that he planned and coordinated different organizations whenever a disaster struck. The philosophy he came with, where he believed that different people had different abilities and expertise and could play different roles in times of disaster, helped change people's mentality towards management disasters. Craig managed to bring back the credibility that FEMA had lost. He achieved this by leading FEMA to preposition equipment and supplies to be ready for an unprecedented disaster before it occurred (Haddow, GD, Bullock, JA and Coppola, DP 2014). Fugate also improved communication and how to contact different agencies. He knew very well that the first responder in a disaster is the next door neighbor. This is why he chose the holistic approach to disaster management, as he understood that everyone had a role to play in saving a life or property. He brought together help from every district, including non-governmental organizations, different states, private agencies and all agencies capable of supporting and offering help in the event of a major disaster. It’s that kind of leader who believes in the power of community to accomplish difficult tasks. One of the FEMA directors who failed to meet standards during a major emergency crisis in the United States was Michael D. Brown during the Hurricane Katrina disaster in August 2005. Brown personally accepted some of the failures that could be attributed to him. During an interview, he admitted in his opening speech that his biggest mistake was not recognizing on Saturday, August 27, that Louisiana was dysfunctional. Later during his testimony, he said: “My mistake was (not) recognizing that, for whatever reason. Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco were reluctant to order a mandatory evacuation. (Cecchine, G. 2013). Brown made his first request for Homeland Security agents to be deployed to disaster sites only after two days of training. He also asked firefighters stationed outside unaffected areas not to provide trucks or rescue workers while awaiting a direct call from the state or local government, to avoid coordination problems and counter-accusations of overstepping federal authorities. Mr. Brown seemed completely out of control of the situation and he was notaware of what was happening on the ground. On September 1, 2005, he publicly told CNN's Soledad O'Brien that he did not know that New Orleans authorities had thousands of evacuees who were running out of food and water at the Convention Center. And this, despite the fact that the main news outlets had, the day before, reported on the fate of the evacuees. Mr. Brown also refused help from other quarters to help the affected victims. According to Chicago's mayor at the time, he had pledged to provide firefighters, health department workers, police officers and other resources on behalf of his city, but Brown only asked him to send 'only one truck. Its major failure was the absence of leadership and communication. affected all levels of government. His job was to coordinate different units to deal with disasters, but he seemed to have failed miserably at this. Hurricane Katrina was apparently one of the biggest disasters and they had been warned in advance that it was going to get out of control. Knowing that the disaster was one of the largest in U.S. history and beyond the capabilities of the state, local government, and FEMA, the wise decision he would have made would have been to request the intervention of the army (Cooper, C., and Block, R. 2007). The issue of vulnerability of the levee system leading to potential loss of life in the event of a disaster of Katrina's magnitude was a concern Brown was aware of, but to mitigate the effects he did little, if anything . The fact that there was a breakdown in communication contributed to this massive failure. The agency did not appear to have enough alternative communications modes such as satellite communications capability in case the available infrastructure failed, making the situation worse. One of the decisions Mr. Craig Fugate made as FEMA director was a game changer. The process of rebuilding after a disaster was the philosophy of a “whole community response.” This philosophy is the result of lessons learned from the failures of governments during the Hurricane Katrina disaster which claimed more than 1,300 lives, leading to massive destruction of property (United States, 2000). He revolutionized the community world by seeking to decentralize disaster management from the federal government; the government must involve different stakeholders such as the private sector, private citizens and volunteers. Before his revolutionary philosophy, it was believed that there was one responder in an emergency and there were both of us and the two would not meet. The idea that everyone could play a role in the emergency response was both very useful and innovative. Craig was able to accomplish this by changing the response mindset of everyone involved when a disaster strikes. His decision changed the course of disaster recovery because people changed their mentality towards disaster management and understood that they all had a very big responsibility. important role to play in disaster management. The level and extent to which this decision has affected disaster recovery is because people have taken ownership of the process and everyone is now involved and plays a key role which may be direct or indirect in the management and disaster mitigation. This factor allowed FEMA to coordinate different organizations and individuals and prepare them for any eventuality that might happen to the nation. FEMA was also able to change the way it behaves and relates to the public in terms of disaster management and mitigation. There.