Long-Term Disaster Recovery Manager Selected for Holiday Farm Fire

News Release from Lane Co. Government
Posted on FlashAlert: January 14th, 2021 8:30 AM

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Matt McRae has been selected as the long-term disaster recovery manager by Lane County. McRae will lead long-term recovery efforts along the McKenzie Corridor as residents and businesses work to rebuild following the Holiday Farm Fire. He will start on January 25, 2021.

 "As a native of Oregon, I have a deep love of the McKenzie River Valley and it is a real privilege to be selected to serve our community in this role," said McRae.

The long-term disaster recovery manager is a two-year position and is responsible for planning and coordinating fire recovery activities and projects; collaborating with partners in the government, private, and non-profit sectors; and preparing and delivering reports and making recommendations in accordance with FEMA disaster recovery guidelines.

McRae has demonstrated skill in bringing large, diverse groups together to work toward a common goal, strong communication skills, and a passion for serving the community.

McRae brings previous experience in emergency planning and hazard mitigation. Most recently, he served as the climate policy strategist for Our Children’s Trust. Prior to this work, he served at the City of Eugene for 13 years in several positions including as the project manager for the Eugene/Springfield Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan where he led the City’s first Climate and Hazards Vulnerability Assessment, as a climate policy analyst where he led the development of the City’s first Climate Action Plan, and as a volunteer coordinator where he led the City’s Stream Team and the Community Gardens Program.

McRae holds a bachelor’s of science in environmental studies from Utah State University.

Meet your 2021 AIA Oregon Board

The AIA Oregon Board of Directors selected members to fill the open Executive Committee positions at the December 11, 2020 meeting. The committee is, left to right, President Amy Vohs, AIA, President-Elect Kaley Fought, AIA, Treasurer Stephanie Morales, Assoc. AIA, and Secretary Misti Nelmes, AIA

Kaley Fought, AIA has been selected as the 2021 President-elect and 2022-23 President. Kaley is currently Treasurer and that term will expire on at the end of 2020. She is an architect and associate at CB Two Architects and a member of the AIA Salem section. She replaces Seth Anderson, AIA, principal at BLRB Architects, and member of the AIA Bend Section, who will be finishing his term as Past-President.

ARE Testing Update

Online Proctoring begins Monday, 12/14

Starting Monday, 12/14, exam candidates can take the ARE through the new online proctoring process.  This format allows candidates to take the exam at locations other than test centers, including home. This is a great option during the pandemic, particularly for our members in the AIA Southern Oregon section as their Prometric test center is closed at least through the end of the year. 

NCARB provided a webinar today, December 10, on the online proctored exam process and we expect a recording will be posted HERE in the next few days.  Joseph Sis, AIASO EPC chair comments about the webinar, “The NCARB webinar today was really informative as they focused almost entirely on questions from candidates and answered them in a live real-world, common-sense, manner. The questions here really dug into issues that will affect most remote testers, and even a few related to taking the test “old school” at the test center.”

Please be aware that for security reasons, there are restrictions on the space where candidates take the test, and the involvement of a live proctor watching remotely throughout the exam. This includes an enclosed space, clean desk, and empty bookshelves. While it is great that this option is available, the space requirements can’t be met by all candidates.  If you operate a firm, please consider how you can set aside space in the office for your staff to take the exam through the online proctoring process. 

NCARB has been preparing for the online proctoring process for a while now, and the closure of test centers accelerated things. This new option coincides with other changes to the ARE process regardless of where you take the exam. This includes the restriction on note pads and the replacement of digital whiteboards as the only tool to sketch and scratch out notes. Many candidates have struggled with the digital whiteboard and this has been a source of much angst. NCARB is committed to this requirement, and to providing more resources, including practice tools to help candidates to get comfortable with it.  Learn more about the practice tools HERE

You can learn more about the online proctoring process HERE, and more about the ARE process overall HERE.