As she moves on, Philly’s ‘master of disaster’ says ‘I'll miss every minute’

Samantha Phillips headed the city's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) during two of the biggest events of the decade: the papal visit and the Democratic National Convention. She responded to the Amtrak derailment in 2015 and the deadly Market Street building collapse in 2013 as well as dozens of snowstorms, hurricanes, and fires.

After six years at the helm and 10 with the department, the Hudson Valley native is resigning to become head of the National Center for Security and Preparedness, a research and training facility affiliated with the State University of New York  in  Albany. At 34, she'll be the youngest director of the center. In an interview, she discussed her time in Philadelphia, her favorite disaster movies, and the need she sees for the city to equip its employees with skills on what to do in case of a crisis.

What made you want to leave Philadelphia OEM?

I think the best answer is just, it's just time. I've been here for 10 years in a lot of different capacities, and it's been an incredible 10 years and an incredible last couple of years, and we've done a lot and it's just sort of -- can you keep this pace? Can you keep doing interesting things? ... So it was just time to try something new.

How will your work with the center compare with dealing with day-to-day crises in the city?

It's in the same discipline, so I will have many of the same colleagues, but I'm stepping away from being a practitioner, and I will be kind of a policy and training and research person. ... When the fire trucks will drive by me on the road, I won't have to look at a phone to see what's going on. And that will be both good and bad.

Your proudest day on the job?

From an incident perspective, I'm proudest of Amtrak. Big events are very challenging, and we all invested endless hours on planning, but there's something about that no-notice. The true test of the programs you've built and the teams you've put together is whether they can respond without any notice, and we did that. We learned a lot of things we'll do differently now, but for me, that was really when I knew we could perform.

What about the worst day?

I think it was the Saturday after Amtrak, where you're sort of on this incredible adrenaline rush for a few days, not sleeping, and then it just sort of hits you that eight families, and many more who are dealing with long-term recovery from injury, their lives are completely different now. And then you have that moment to sit back and think, 'Did we do everything right? What should we have done differently?'

How has OEM changed in the 10 years you've been here?

When I first started in 2007, everyone was assessing their readiness post-Hurricane Katrina. The Office of Emergency Management back then was five, maybe half a dozen people ... now we're sitting at 29 people. It's definitely more than doubled in size in recent years and allowed us to build out program and divisions.

What do you think are the city's biggest areas of vulnerability when it comes to being prepared for a disaster?

We still have a really hard time focusing on city government employees and making sure they're prepared for emergencies, and that they know what to do in emergencies. We do a lot of great work with the public: teaching the public how to evacuate or shelter in place and supplies they need to have, but we're in this new world where there are active shooter events and workplace violence. So, are we doing enough to ensure that our employees are registered for our text alerts and do they know how to evacuate? ... People are going to look to us after an emergency to be able to come back quickly and effectively and efficiently.

Was tackling the pope and DNC back-to-back in less than a year part of the reason you felt ready to leave?

Yeah, I mean, there will always be a snowstorm, there will always be a big four-alarm fire like yesterday ... but it really just is time for me to try something different, and it was also very important for me to leave on a really high note coming off those events. ... It's time for someone else to keep on keeping on.

But you're sneaking out before the NFL draft in April?

You can publish this now because it won't matter, but I'm a New York Giants fan. The draft is -- it's a big event, but it's well within the city's capabilities.

Do you have a favorite disaster movie or TV show?

I watch Homeland. ... At our office holiday party, this year we watched Contagion, and I think we all regretted it.

Anything else you want to add?

It's bittersweet. This was the hardest decision of my life for sure, to leave. Last week, every time I told somebody, I was in tears. I'm leaving in a really good place and OEM is a phenomenal organization, and I don't wish it well, I know it will do well, but it's very hard to leave.