Ahead of her appearance at the Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resilience North America (CIPRNA) event, we sat down with Andrea Davis, CEO of The Resiliency Initiative to discuss her unconventional path into crisis management, the cultural foundations of organizational resilience, and what the future holds as climate, cyber, and geopolitical risks collide.
https://www.theresiliencyinitiative.com
Andrea will be speaking at CIPRNA 2026 in the session Collaboration, Information Sharing and Enhancing PPPs – https://ciprna-expo.com/session/collaboration-information-sharing-and-enhancing-ppps/
Ben Lane: Andrea, thanks for joining us. Your professional journey isn’t exactly a straight line. How did you find your way into the field of resilience?
Andrea Davis: It has been an interesting journey, Ben. I didn’t come to this field in any traditional sense. Honestly, I didn’t even know it existed. Back in 1999, I was in law school and had what I call a quarter-life crisis. I realised I didn’t want to become an attorney, so I dropped out in my second year, which was terrifying. I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to find a new direction.
At the time, the U.S. was experiencing Y2K anxiety; computers failing, infrastructure collapsing, the whole thing now seems almost quaint compared to what we’ve faced since. Through the nonprofit, SF CARD, the City and County of San Francisco were hiring someone to work with nonprofits that support the city during crises. I didn’t know what “continuity of operations planning” meant, but I needed a job. I had been substitute-teaching children and figured, well, at least I hadn’t harmed any kids, and that must count for something!
I was completely transparent with the director of emergency services, Lu Canton, who later became a good friend and mentor of mine. He explained that resilience planning wasn’t about knowing all the answers; it was about coordinating experts to solve problems, whether it’s the “big bad day” like an earthquake or a small business losing power. That fascinated me.
From there, my career moved from city and nonprofit work to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Reserve, and eventually FEMA as External Affairs Director during Hurricane Katrina recovery. I loved the work and its impact, especially in New Orleans.
Then I saw a role at The Walt Disney Company, Director of Global Crisis Management. I had no idea what problems Mickey Mouse might have, but once again I threw my hat in the ring. I ended up traveling to 49 countries supporting Disney’s enterprises helping them prepare for the bad day.
I later transitioned to Walmart as their Senior Director of Emergency Management. My first day was January 6th, 2020. Two days later, we activated the Emergency Operations Canter for something called COVID-19. I spent the next two and a half years running 24/7 operations virtually.
And that’s where I saw my next calling. I watched so many small businesses and nonprofits collapse because they lacked basic continuity plans. It broke my heart. So, I left corporate America and founded The Resiliency Initiative, bringing together talent from both Disney and Walmart. It’s been an amazing three and a half years since.
Embedding a People-Centered Culture of Resilience
Ben Lane: Your work emphasizes a people-centered, whole-community approach. In your experience, what parts of organizational culture most influence the success or failure of a resilience strategy?
Andrea Davis: The biggest success always comes when resilience is prioritized and when risk is part of strategic planning. That’s true for both public and private sectors. If your chief risk officer or security lead isn’t at the table when business decisions are being made, you’re creating a disconnect.
You don’t necessarily need an expensive consultant. Sometimes it’s as simple as reviewing job descriptions. Is your risk or security team integrated into operations? Are they helping shape decisions like market entry, expansion, or product launches?
Broadening your definition of risk is crucial, too. It’s not only hurricanes or cyberattacks. It’s reputation damage, employee misconduct, and operational disruptions.
And honestly, the resilience profession hasn’t always helped itself. We can be rigid, clinging to outdated practices. For instance, continuity planning still asks about an “alternate site.” But in a hybrid world, maybe your payroll team doesn’t need a physical office. We must modernize.
Culture shifts only happen when the top of the organization invests in resilience and when every employee understands their role during a crisis.
Navigating Interdependencies and Cascading Threats
Ben Lane: With critical infrastructure increasingly interconnected, how does The Resiliency Initiative help clients prepare for cascading failures and multi-hazard scenarios?
Andrea Davis: My approach is always to de-complicate. These concepts can overwhelm people quickly when you walk in, saying, “Let’s plan for climate, cyber, physical, supply chain, and geopolitical risks,” people mentally check out.
So, I start with consequences: Is the critical risk loss of power? Loss of people? Loss of a key system? Once you define the consequence, you can explore how that loss might occur: cyberattack, physical damage, training gaps, human error.
I often use short, sharp tabletop exercises with executives. Fifteen minutes is all it takes for them to realise where the gaps are. For one media organisation, I posed a scenario where a foreign correspondent is detained. Suddenly, leaders saw they had no extraction plan, no coordination strategy with governments, and no legal protocols.
However, you must know your audience. I once used an earthquake scenario, and an executive hid under the desk for the entire exercise because she had never experienced an earthquake and quickly became overwhelmed. The shock shut her down entirely. It taught me to stage scenarios that provoke critical thinking, not panic.
Strengthening Public–Private Partnerships
Ben Lane: You’re deeply involved in public–private collaboration. What role do you play in helping organisations navigate policy, regulation, and partnership with government agencies?
Andrea Davis: This is close to my heart because I’ve lived on both sides of public and private. When I moved to the private sector, I had to bring my public-sector partners along with me.
I remember calling FEMA during a major hurricane while I was at Disney. They said, “What’s Mickey going to do for us?” They didn’t see how an entertainment company could support response efforts. But Disney had huge property, hotels, and crisis teams. Safe places to stage responders.
Furthermore, the traditional approach in the US to public-private partnerships when it comes to disaster response was always: What can you give us for free? Especially with companies like Walmart. That’s not a partnership. A partnership must be mutually beneficial.
In the U.S., 90% of the population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart. If Walmart’s trucks can’t reach a region after a disaster, that community may not get much-needed food and supplies. Local responders need to understand those downstream effects before a crisis.
Sometimes, collaboration is as simple as inviting the local sheriff or fire chief to an internal company exercise. At the Federal Reserve, I staged a white-powder scenario during the US anthrax scare and invited the sheriff. He said, “We would shut you down for a week in a white power incident.” The internal leaders were stunned; they didn’t realize the jurisdictional complexities until that moment.
Policies may be shifting rapidly in the U.S., but the core rule remains: if you stay siloed, your resilience planning will fail.
Building Future-Ready Resilience
Ben Lane: As a CEO working at the forefront of this field, what steps should organisations take today to build resilience? And what trends will most shape the future?
Andrea Davis: First, you can’t look ahead unless you understand your risks today. Know what matters to your organization. Know what you’re willing to assume, and where you want to invest your energy.
Second, you can’t do this alone. Know your neighbours, business partners, competitors, and government contacts. Talk to people. Invite them in. Participate. Resilience is a team sport.
The biggest challenges ahead?
- The rising frequency and intensity of natural disasters worldwide.
- Escalating cybercrime, especially financial fraud, where billions are lost annually.
- AI-driven misinformation, which can rapidly escalate crises if leaders don’t know their trusted information sources.
So, establish those trusted sources now. Build relationships. Know who you’re going to call and who will call you.
Because siloed organizations will not survive what’s coming.
Ben Lane: A powerful note to end on, Andrea. Thank you for sharing your insights, it was full of passion, expertise, and actionable guidance.
Andrea Davis: Thank you, Ben. I appreciate the conversation.