“I have been working in the disaster recovery field for over 12 years, and in that time, I’ve never seen challenges like the ones we saw in Puerto Rico for the recovery efforts after both Hurricane’s Irma and Maria. We began with minimal FEMA staff and faced a litany of logistical nightmares. On top of that, we were challenged with delivering a “hybrid PA program” that combined some elements of the old system and some of the new – basically shoehorning the old system into Grants Manager.
 
I was thankful when FEMA contractors arrived, and especially thankful for the staff provided under the leadership of Atkinson Consulting. Not only were Atkinson’s people hard working, trustworthy, salt of the earth type people, but they were brilliant in coming up with solutions to overcome the logistical challenges that had plagued us for months prior. The majority of Atkinson’s team were bilingual, and some were local to the island which was a huge benefit for communicating with Applicants and especially in understanding the local culture. I remember being very grateful for having these guys in my corner, especially during politically charged Applicant meetings. I am happy to offer my full endorsement of Atkinson and any of their team members that served with me in Puerto Rico.”

Michael R. Simpson, P.E.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS)
Infrastructure Branch Chief