Practitioner’s Profile: How Olivia Mayeaux Breland Found Emergency Management

When Olivia started her new role as Customer Success Director in 2021, she saw an opportunity, just as she did as an undergrad. Emergency management is a steady but growing field, and it's the new thinkers like Olivia that continue pushing it to evolve. Olivia joined a band of those pioneers in 2021, bringing a drive to better other emergency managers and their programs like she once did.

Finding Emergency Management

Olivia Breland originally planned on going into medicine, but later found emergency management in college. 

She worked for LSU’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT). The NCBRT ran trainings on different kinds of emergencies as part of their operations. After one training on active threats and identification of suspects, Olivia realized she wanted to change direction to emergency management and response. 

Upon graduation, Olivia joined the New Orleans Health Department, managing emergency management for their hospitals. She worked with the state to continue the program, and began to make improvements, including creating the department’s first family reunification plan.

Olivia continued her education by earning her master’s degree in emergency management and homeland security, simultaneously working for Tulane University’s Athletic Department. She then moved on to LSU’s Emergency Management Department, where she also became a customer of Veoci. This helped her to build out LSU’s program and changed how she saw emergency management, from mitigation to recovery. 

Despite being in Louisiana, Olivia joined a Texas-based Veoci user group. All the members in this shared their solutions on the platform with each other. This community was important to Olivia, and she was able to get advice from other Veoci users and incorporate their best practices in her emergency management solution.

Veoci: A Chance to Build More

Following this, Olivia decided to make a career change. She wanted to make a difference in emergency management in a new way.

She knew she could give professionals the tools they needed to succeed in building out their programs. With modern technology platforms like Veoci, she saw the field revolutionizing. By using this platform, emergency managers can expand what they do in the field and change how they stay prepared for the better.

Olivia joined the Veoci team as Customer Success Director in 2021. She’s fostered an environment where Veoci users can trust the company with their important tasks and goals. The role creates a grand reach, and is a step in her goal of bringing new ideas capabilities to the field of emergency management. She also has been able to help her team members accomplish their goals and create a supportive workspace internally.

Words of Wisdom

Olivia’s advice to those in the field, or any field. is to give themselves grace. We are, as people, constantly learning, and mistakes can happen as a result. In order to get to an ideal place you need to be able to learn and grow, even when it is uncomfortable. And even when you do make a mistake, recognize the positive things that are allowing you to reach toward your goals.

Personal Life and Motivation

Outside of work, Olivia supports her husband’s baseball team and likes to spoil her dog, Duchess. Her biggest motivator is seeing other people succeed and knowing that she contributed. One of her most formative experiences was her time as a counselor for the football team at Tulane University. She credits it with contributing to her communication and collaboration skills. It helped her understand people’s individual needs and continues to assist her in helping customers today.