Reforming FEMA Individual Assistance
Following a presidential declaration, FEMA provides financial support and direct services to disaster survivors and works with state, tribal, territory, local, and community partners to help these survivors recover. FEMA has listened to feedback, learned from previous disasters, and is ready to move forward with significant changes that will help individuals recover quicker after disaster strikes. With these reforms, FEMA is simplifying processes, removing barriers to access services, and increasing eligibility for certain types of assistance under the program. This marks a significant step toward improving the disaster survivor experience.
Dinusha Weerakkody is the Section Chief of FEMA’s Voluntary Agency Coordination (VAC). She previously served as the Communications & Outreach Unit Chief within the VAC Section. In that role she oversaw the strategic partner calls, which reached record participation levels in 2023, and increased engagement with partners through several key initiatives. Before joining Individual Assistance, Dinusha worked in the Public Assistance Regulations & Policy Branch.
Prior to joining FEMA in 2010, she worked with the Department of Housing and Community Development at the Government of the District of Columbia, as well as with the United Nations Development Program to support the response and recovery efforts after the impacts of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Monica Willemssen has been a Voluntary Agency Liaison with FEMA for the past 3 years. Prior to her role at FEMA, she worked for the International Association of Fire Chiefs, overseeing their grants that supported and created more diverse and inclusive volunteer fire departments nationwide. These grants worked to increase efficiency with recruitment, management, and retention of fire department volunteers. She is also a US Coast Guard veteran and worked in intelligence and emergency response coordination. During her time in the Coast Guard, she deployed in support of multiple humanitarian events, like Hurricane Katrina and the Hattian Earthquake, as a search and rescue coordinator and communications/information specialist.
Carlie Morishita joined the Voluntary Agency Coordination Section at FEMA Headquarters in November 2022. Prior to coming to FEMA Headquarters, Carlie was a FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaison reservist in the field, where she was deployed to New Jersey to support Hurricane Ida recovery efforts in 2021. Before becoming a reservist, she completed a national service year in the AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of the FEMA Corps service year, Carlie deployed to support a variety of FEMA missions across the country in states including New Jersey, New York, Texas, DC/Virginia, and Kentucky.
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