The Director of Federal Programs for the National Emergency Planning and Training Association (NEPTA) serves in a key leadership role focused on securing, managing, and overseeing federal funding, grants, and partnerships to support NEPTA’s mission of helping families, businesses, local governments, and Indian Tribes prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters through continuity planning, training, mitigation, resiliency strategies, and related services (such as portable shelters, emergency operations centers, and cloud-based plan storage). Dr. Bentley provides strategic direction in the development and management of budgets for federal programs, coordinating with NEPTA’s finance team to allocate funds effectively across training initiatives, mitigation projects, plan development, and service delivery. In addition, Dr. Bentley helps to foster partnerships with other national, state, and local emergency management organizations, as well as private sector entities, to leverage federal programs for joint initiatives. Represent NEPTA in federal forums, working groups, or interagency meetings focused on emergency planning and training. Advocate for policy changes or increased funding that would benefit the field of emergency management and NEPTA’s constituency. In this role, Dr. Betley brings her Ph.D.-level expertise to enhance NEPTA’s credibility in federal circles, ensure high standards of accountability, and maximizes the impact of public resources on disaster preparedness and resiliency efforts nationwide. Her position involves a mix of strategic planning, hands-on grant management, compliance oversight, and relationship-building, with an emphasis on translating federal investments into practical benefits for NEPTA’s diverse clients.