Established by President Jimmy Carter in the late 70’s, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has responded to every major American disaster over the last 40 years. But for all its many successes, FEMA is also an agency that has struggled with its image in the public eye. Its high-profile failures have dominated the conversation in the media and among the public. So when Molly McPherson went to work for FEMA in 2007 as a public affairs specialist, she pitched a bold new approach the put the agency front and center in telling its own story. But it would also put her and her team in the path of danger. And one sweltering day in Houston, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, that danger caught up to her, changing her career path and her life forever. In this episode, Molly details the story of her close call, and her colleague Mike Moore shares his own personal struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the time he spent in the trenches of FEMA's disaster recovery efforts. Join the Podcamp Media Email Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices