Rachel Hollinger

I attribute my success to a strong sense of responsibility, continuous growth, and the people who invested in me along the way. Throughout my career, I have always been someone who steps in where needed and takes ownership. Whether in emergency management, the military, or leadership roles, I have never been content simply meeting the minimum requirements. I am always looking for opportunities to improve processes, continue my education, build programs, and grow as a leader.

I also believe that some of the greatest growth happens when you are willing to raise your hand before you feel completely ready. Many of the opportunities that shaped my career challenged me, stretched me, and pushed me outside of my comfort zone, but they ultimately helped me grow.

I’m especially grateful for the mentors who helped shape me early on. My first military supervisor, Master Sergeant Heidi Pierce, taught me the importance of professionalism from the beginning of my career. She set high standards and emphasized things like communication, attention to detail, and how we carry ourselves as professionals. At the time, those expectations felt tough, but looking back, they built a foundation that followed me throughout my career and truly helped set me apart.

Success is rarely something we achieve entirely on our own. Hard work matters, but so do the people who challenge us, hold us accountable, and help us become better than we thought we could be.

The best career advice I have received was from my previous commander, Lt Col David Shaw. He told me, 'Never give anyone a reason not to pick or promote you. Make sure every box is checked.' That advice has stayed with me throughout my career. Essentially, every position and every level of advancement comes with requirements, whether that is education, training, certifications, or experience. The key is to start preparing for the next opportunity long before it arrives and ensure those boxes are already checked.

In emergency management, I have the privilege of working alongside many highly educated, experienced, and talented professionals. Because of that, I am always looking for opportunities to continue growing, whether through advancing my education, joining steering committees, seeking additional training, or taking on leadership opportunities. Continuous growth and learning are how I maintain a competitive edge and continue preparing for the next challenge.

My biggest advice for women is to keep putting one foot in front of the other and not let the size of the journey overwhelm you. Early in your career, especially in emergency management, you can look at everything you need to learn and think, 'How am I ever going to get there?' But you don't have to know everything today. Focus on taking the next step, then the next one. Progress is built one day at a time.

I would also tell women not to shrink their voices. I've worked in emergency services and the military, which can be very male-dominated environments, and there may be times when you feel like you're not being heard or like you have to prove yourself more than others. Keep speaking up. Keep advocating for your ideas, your programs, and the things you believe in. Your perspective matters, and sometimes change happens because someone was willing to keep showing up and keep pushing forward.

Keep learning, keep building relationships, keep seeking opportunities, even if it's simply observing, asking questions, or stepping into rooms where you don't feel fully ready yet. Don't let setbacks convince you that you don't belong. Growth doesn't happen because everything goes perfectly; it happens because you keep moving forward even when it's hard.

One of the biggest challenges in emergency management right now is balancing increasing public expectations with limited time, resources, and competing priorities. Communities expect rapid communication, immediate information, and coordinated responses during emergencies, which is understandable, but behind the scenes, emergency management requires significant planning, training, relationship building, and preparedness work long before an incident ever happens.

Another challenge is ensuring that leadership fully understands the importance of prioritizing emergency management over other organizational initiatives. One of the difficulties in our profession is that if we are doing our job well, many of the successes happen before the emergency ever occurs. Preparedness, exercises, planning, mitigation efforts, and relationship-building may not always be highly visible, but they are critical to an effective response during disasters.

We are also navigating a period of uncertainty as government structures, funding priorities, and programs continue to evolve at the federal level. Emergency management often relies heavily on partnerships and support across all levels of government, so changes in priorities and resources can create challenges for long-term planning.

At the same time, I see tremendous opportunity in leadership development, stronger interagency collaboration, technology-driven emergency systems, and expanding preparedness programs that better support our communities and vulnerable populations.

The values that are most important to me in both my work and personal life are service, responsibility, professionalism, continuous growth, and relationships. I’ve always believed that if you commit to something, people should be able to count on you. Whether I’m supporting my community through emergency management, serving in the military, leading a team, or being present for my family and friends, I believe in showing up, taking ownership, and following through.

Professionalism is another value that was instilled in me early in my career and has stayed with me throughout my life. I learned that how we communicate, how we carry ourselves, and how we treat others matter. The way you represent yourself and the way you make people feel can leave a lasting impact.

I also strongly value continuous growth. I never want to become complacent or stop learning. I’m always looking for opportunities to expand my knowledge, develop new skills, and challenge myself because I believe growth is an ongoing process.

Most importantly, I value people and relationships. Success is important, but at the end of the day, the impact we have on others, the people we help, and the connections we build are what matter most.