If there’s one thing Mike Onofrio likes most about his job, it’s that he’s never bored. That’s not surprising given his role as Emergency Management Program Manager within Environmental Health & Safety (EHS). Mike joined Harvard in August 2023 and quickly became an integral member of the Emergency Management Team which helps the University navigate unexpected issues and work through crisis situations.
This is nothing new for Mike since he spent many years working as an EMT and in 2021, shortly after receiving his master’s degree from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, he began working in emergency management at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in New Hampshire. At the time, COVID was tapering off but hospitals were dealing with a tsunami of patients who had postponed elective procedures because of the pandemic. “We had to quickly reconfigure everything because we still needed to isolate the COVID patients while reactivating basic services. Space was limited so it was quite challenging working through these issues, day after day, to keep everybody safe,” said Mike.
While much of COVID meant quickly responding to unexpected issues, the EHS Emergency Management team, which also includes Director Brian Mazmanian and Business Continuity Program Manager Evren Celimli, focuses heavily on preparedness and planning. The team recently hosted a major, city-wide emergency planning exercise that included Harvard, MIT, Mt. Auburn Hospital, the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, City of Cambridge, and many other institutions.
The exercise envisioned a tornado hitting the Fresh Pond area, disabling the water intake infrastructure for several days, creating a serious water shortage. Participants worked through the scenario; discussing how they would respond, communicate, and work together to keep everything functioning. “If something happens in the city, it doesn’t affect just one institution, it affects everyone,” said Mike. “Good coordination, and especially clear communication, is critical. This tabletop exercise let us identify any gaps and taught us how well we could coordinate a response impacting multiple institutions.”
Today, when asked what he likes most about working at Harvard Michael said, “people are just so willing to work together when something happens. Harvard brings the right people and makes sure we’re resourced. That doesn’t just mean throwing money at a problem. It means getting the right minds together and encouraging learning opportunities. You don’t always get support like that at a lot of other places.”