Leadership

Lanita Lloyd
Lanita Lloyd
President

Ms. Lloyd is currently the Divisional Director of The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services in the State of Georgia, In this position, Ms. Lloyd oversees emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, & recovery activities; supervises and coordinates disaster work in the Division; serves as the divisional liaison to all regional emergency management partners; manages an emergency management training program; and provides mutual aid as needed to other divisions within the U.S. In addition to her full-time work, Lanita teaches emergency management at several universities and serves on the Advisory Committee for her local emergency management agency in Carroll County Georgia.

Ms. Lloyd is an emergency management professional with 30+ years of emergency management related experience. Her versatile skill set was developed through practical efforts in emergency management and homeland security in the state and local public sector, work with medical services, non-government organizations, and service on local, state, and national committees. She has extensive hands-on experience of planning, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery from actual disasters and exercises. Through her training and experience Ms. Lloyd has gained intricate knowledge of nationally approved standards, requirements and guidelines for emergency management.

Lanita is an appointed member of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) Advisory Group, which sets processes and standards for mutual aid across the nation; she serves as an Assessor for the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), which sets the standards for emergency management programs throughout the world; and is a former Commissioner on the Certification Commission, which certifies professionals in the field. Additionally, Lanita is a past president of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)-US (a 5,000-member organization), past president of the Emergency Management Association of Georgia, and current president of GA Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (GA-VOAD).

Lanita earned the Georgia Professional Certified Emergency Manager, and the Certified Emergency Manager through IAEM. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration from Shorter University, Rome, GA; a Master of Science in Emergency Management from Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, and she earned a Certification in Humanitarian Logistics from GA Tech.

Luis Morales
Vice President

Luis retired from the US Air Force after 34+ years of total military service; most as a registered nurse.  His last 12 years were as an International Health Specialists.  In addition to a variety of nursing leadership roles, he planned and executed many humanitarian assistance and disaster planning training missions around the world.  Since retiring he volunteers with South Georgia United Methodist Conference as their disaster response coordinator.

He hold a Master’s Degree in Public Safety – Emergency Management, another in Public Administration, and a Bachelors’ Science in Nursing.

Alvin Kates
Treasurer

Al began his disaster response work as a result of a dear friend who convinced me use my construction skills to help others.  Led 25 trips to the gulf coast after Hurricane Katrina, from October 2005 through January, 2010.  In 2011 began helping Life Connection Ministries (LCM) with their mission work in South Africa.  In 2012 LCM founders start a second foundation to create a legacy for their son that is Matthew E Russell Foundation and we commenced building libraries in South Africa”s, Eastern Cape.  After retiring from construction in the spring of 2015, Al joined Lutheran Services of Georgia and helped develop their Disaster Response Program.  Joining GA VOAD in 2015, becoming their Vice President 2018 and Treasurer in 2019 thru today.

Kathy Shemwell
Secretary

Kathy is a South Georgia Native. She has a background in mental health, recruitment/training and disaster management. She has worked with FEMA/SAMHSA as a Crisis Counselor Team Lead though two Presidentially declared disasters. Kathy was instrumental in developing a disaster relief warehouse as well as LTRGs and COAD in South Georgia. She works to build partnerships and prepare the community for disasters. She enjoys volunteering in her community and spending time with her family.

Adam Gardner
Member-at-Large

Adam Garner has served communities in multiple ways over the years. Adam currently works for Team Rubicon as an Operations Associate in South Branch. He has deployed to numerous disasters to assist communities in recovery after a disaster. Day to day Adam leads a team of Volunteer Leaders in Georgia and Alabama to help communities before, during and after disasters. He currently serves as Member at Large for Georgia VOAD. Adam is also a Marine Corps Veteran and worked in Public Safety for twelve years.