As an Associate Environmental Planner, Alaina Boone provides technical assistance to jurisdictions throughout the state, including cities, counties, special districts, tribes, state departments, and private nonprofits, in applying for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) funding.
She supports applicants in navigating six different grant programs, each with unique requirements and complexities that can require hundreds of hours of work from both the planner and the sub-applicant. Through this process, her department helps communities develop projects that mitigate natural hazards, reduce impacts to life safety, and strengthen community resilience in preparation for future natural disasters.
The projects Alaina supports range from early-stage conceptual planning, design, and engineering to developing or updating Local Hazard Mitigation Plans and advancing shovel-ready construction projects. Examples include seismic retrofits for hospitals and other critical facilities, hazardous fuels reduction projects to reduce wildfire risk, and levee hardening projects designed to reduce the impacts of flooding.
Through her work, Alaina Boone helps communities turn hazard mitigation concepts into actionable projects that can protect people, infrastructure, and communities from the impacts of natural disasters.