News Release
Date: November 3, 2020
Contact: Tina Boehle, 208-387-5875
Katy O’Hara, the partnerships program lead with the Department of the Interior Office of Wildland Fire (DOI OWF) has been selected as the new National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Equipment & Technology Branch Coordinator position recently vacated by the retirement of Paul Schlobohm.
The NWCG was established in 1976 between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior as an operational group designed to coordinate programs of the participating agencies to avoid duplication and to provide a means of constructively working together. Its goal is to provide more effective execution of each agency’s fire management program. It provides a formalized system to agree upon standards of training, equipment, aircraft, suppression priorities, and other operational areas.
NWCG program manager, Jeremy Sullens noted “We’re excited to be bringing someone with Katy’s diverse background into NWCG. The wildland fire community can look forward to her leadership as one of the three branch coordinators serving the NWCG.”
Katy is a graduate of the Oregon State University College of Forestry. She was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and served four years on active duty as a surface warfare officer and training specialist. After active duty, Katy returned to natural resources with the U.S. Forest Service, where she worked in public affairs on the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests. While with the Forest Service, Katy returned to wildland fire and began working as a public information officer (PIO). She currently serves on Pacific Northwest Team 3 as a PIO Type 1 trainee.
A native of Boise, ID, Katy continues to serve in the Navy Reserve based out of Boise as a public affairs officer. In the reserves, she is assigned to Navy Office of Information - West where she works with the entertainment industry to enhance public awareness and further the accurate portrayal of the U.S. Navy's latest technologies, ships, and highly trained personnel.
Katy is a mom to three kids, which right now also means juggling virtual learning and hybrid school schedules. Her oldest daughter is 10 and plays on a competitive travel soccer and basketball team, and her 8-year old twin son and daughter are into football and theater respectively. Katy also plays soccer on both a co-ed and women’s team.
Katy will begin her new position on November 8, 2020.
Last updated: November 3, 2020