Andrew Marinik appointed assistant director of emergency management

Andrew Marinik has been named assistant director of emergency management at Virginia Tech.

In his new role, Marinik is responsible for coordinating, developing, and maintaining comprehensive emergency planning initiatives for the university, and will serve as a liaison to employees, students, and other community partners.

The Office of Emergency Management, in the Division of Administrative Services, works to build a culture of preparedness and resiliency within the university by coordinating planning, training, response and recovery efforts that ensure the emergency readiness of the Virginia Tech community.

The Office of Emergency Management oversees more than 220 departmental continuity of operations plans, public information and communication capabilities, regular drills and exercises, resource management, hazard mitigation, and coordination of internal and external stakeholders. In 2014, the office was recognized as the first college or university accredited by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP).

Marinik initially joined the office as an emergency planner in 2013. In that role he was responsible for developing and maintaining university emergency plans as well as programmatic strategic planning, Emergency Operations Center implementation and management, and special projects.

In 2015, he was nominated in the Teamwork category for the statewide Governor’s Award program.

Prior to his time in emergency management, Marinik served as a safety and hazardous materials project associate at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute from 2007-2013.

Marinik earned bachelor’s degree in chemistry and fire science from Lake Superior State University (Sault Ste. Marie, MI) and a master’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech.

He is also certified as a firefighter, EMT, and hazardous materials technician, and currently serves on the Blacksburg Volunteer Fire Department and the New River Valley Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team.    

Written by Victoria Hill, public relations specialist for emergency management.