How a University Classroom Sparked McDonough County ESDA’s Digital Shift
From The Bravo Zulu by D4H by D4H
December 10, 2025 · 47 min
About this episode
The episode discusses how a university classroom experience influenced the digital transformation of McDonough County's emergency management program.
Discover how a university classroom helped shape a more resilient, future-ready county emergency management program. Join us for a conversation with Edgar R. Rodriguez, Emergency Management Director for McDonough County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency (ESDA), and Kiley Higby, his intern whose classroom experience at Western Illinois University (WIU) helped spark real digital change within the agency. After using emergency management software as part of WIU’s program, Kiley introduced the tools to McDonough County ESDA, leading the team to adopt a modern, real-time system to strengthen preparedness and improve confidence before an incident ever occurs. In this live stream, we’ll explore how the next generation of emergency managers is influencing technology adoption, how McDonough County is using digital tools to close the loop between exercises and pre-plans, and why real-time information sharing and built-in audit trails are now essential for defensible, well-coordinated decision-making.
People in this episode
Guests: Edgar R. Rodriguez, Kiley Higby
Topics covered
- emergency management
- digital transformation
- education impact
- technology adoption
- preparedness
- real-time information
Keywords
- emergency management
- digital tools
- real-time systems
- preparedness
- technology adoption
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: McDonough County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency (ESDA), Western Illinois University (WIU)
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