Dajana Crockett is the Disaster Resiliency Coordinator at the Barren River Area Development District (BRADD). Dajana has been with BRADD since July 2017. Since her time at the ADD, Dajana has developed and administered numerous grant applications from various state and federal funding sources. Dajana primarily works with emergency management personnel on hazard mitigation projects and updating the Multi-Jurisdictional Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. Dajana is a Certified Community Development Block Grant Administrator. Prior to joining the Community and Economic Development Department at BRADD, Dajana worked as a Legal Assistant for a local attorney’s office. Her previous legal career and educational background prepared Dajana for her current role at BRADD. Dajana draws many similarities between legal briefs, historical writing, and grant proposals because all three require problem-solving, clear and concise writing, presenting a logical solution to a problem, and anticipating and answering the reader’s potential questions.

Eleri Gesler has been a CED intern with BRADD since November of 2023. She is currently in her last year of the Master of Public Administration Program at Western Kentucky University. She is the graduate assistant of fitness programming for WKU Recreation & Wellness, and is also a cheer coach at Cheerville in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She also serves as Miss Mammoth Cave Area 2024 and will be competing for the job of Miss Kentucky in June of this year.

Nick Grinstead has worked with Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) through the University of Kentucky’s Hazard Mitigation Grants Program (HMGP) Office of its Martin School of Public Policy and Administration for more than half a decade. Nick’s role during this time has focused on reviewing and editing local hazard mitigation plans and writing parts of local hazard mitigation plans. Nick has been responsible for two statewide hazard mitigation plans from which Kentucky has received its “enhanced” status. Nick also develops and manages planning projects funded by FEMA and by other federal agencies. Nick currently is pursuing his Ph.D.

Amanda LeMaster is the Energy Assurance Coordinator for the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy within the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. Amanda is responsible for Enhancing the energy resilience and security of the Commonwealth by identifying opportunities to increase our ability to respond effectively to an energy disruption and to recover quickly. Previously she worked with KY Emergency Management where she provided technical assistance and programmatic oversight in the development and implementation of hazard mitigation grants throughout the commonwealth.