WASHINGTON, D.C. – The BuildStrong Coalition has named Natalie Enclade as its new Executive Director. Enclade joins BuildStrong from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where she led the agency’s Financial Well-Being program. She also previously served as the Director of the Individual and Community Preparedness Division at FEMA from 2018-2019. As Executive Director, Enclade will lead the Coalition’s advocacy effort on the Resilient AMERICA Act, a bipartisan disaster reform bill introduced by House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) earlier this fall.
“From my time in government and career in emergency management, BuildStrong has been the organization of record when it comes to disaster reform,” said Enclade. “The investment landscape in disaster mitigation and resilience in this country is growing faster than ever before. I’m excited to get to work and lead the Coalition to meet this evolving challenge head-on in 2022.”
The Resilient AMERICA Act (RAA) was also introduced by Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Chair Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ranking Member Daniel Webster (R-FL) and includes numerous provisions geared toward providing communities with additional resources and tools to bolster mitigation and resilience before the next disaster strikes. The bill, which awaits action by the House after making it through the committee process, represents the most significant legislative action on disaster reform since 2018’s Disaster Recovery Reform Act. BuildStrong previously announced its support of the legislation upon its introduction. In addition to leading the Coalition’s RAA efforts, Enclade will spearhead the BuildStrong California campaign, among other Coalition initiatives in 2022.
Enclade takes over the role from Pamela Williams, who served as the Coalition’s Executive Director from 2018 to 2021. Prior to her time at FEMA, Enclade oversaw the FEMA portfolio for the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee under then-Chair Ron Johnson (R-WI).
“As we begin to work over the next year on building momentum for important legislation like the Resilient AMERIC Act in the U.S. Senate, Natalie’s deep experience in the upper chamber has the Coalition well positioned to continue driving impactful policy that better protects communities across America from severe climate events,” said Jimi Grande, Chairman of the BuildStrong Coalition and SVP of Federal Affairs at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
“The emphasis being placed on resilience and mitigation both in Washington and across the country is the highest its been since we started the Coalition over a decade ago,” said BuildStrong President Phil Anderson. “But what this increased attention has taught us is that we’ve really only scratched the surface. Natalie is the perfect person to lead the next chapter of the BuildStrong Coalition and take the national disaster reform dialogue into the future.”
