Please join us in congratulating, Professor Ali Gheith, Director of the Emergency and Disaster Management (EDM) Graduate program at Metropolitan College of New York. Wednesday, January 6, 2021, has been proclaimed “Ali M. Gheith Celebration Day In Brooklyn U.S.A.” by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
Professor Gheith is being honored for his dedication and outstanding contributions to ensuring that the borough of Brooklyn has healthy communities. Ali Gheith is a life-long Brooklyn resident and this is the second time that his contributions to emergency management and mental health first aid have been highlighted by Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams. In 2018, Gheith received a citation for Achievements in Mental Health Training and Emergency Management.
“As an emergency manager, you learn how to plan for, prepare and respond to all types of crises. Emergency Management is about saving lives. As Covid-19 arrived on the shores of the United States, scientists and public health experts mobilized to flatten the curve and minimize the impact on the public health system. In emergency management, you learn that the psychological impact of any crisis outnumbers the physical impact,” said MCNY EDM Director Ali Gheith.
Ali Gheith’s help and expertise in mental health first aid and the psychological impact of crisis is widely sought after as New York and surrounding cities are seeing the psychological toll the pandemic is taking on first responders, healthcare workers, essential workers and community members. “I was honored to lead the efforts in NYC working alongside colleagues from the NYC Emergency Management to bring awareness, conduct workshops for those involved in fighting the virus. We were able to flatten the curve of the mental health impact on the mental health system by empowering people in the early phase of the Covid-19 crisis,” said Ali Gheith.
More about Director Ali Gheith
Ali Gheith is the director of the Emergency and Disaster Management graduate degree program at Metropolitan College of New York.
In early 2003, Gheith joined the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as a coordinator of Population-Based Resilience. He has responded to every major crisis in New York since 9/11. In 2010, he was assigned as regional coordinator for a citywide H1N1 vaccine campaign effort to inoculate New Yorkers.
Gheith is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with mental illness through public education, information activities, and raising awareness to move the mental health agenda forward. Gheith coordinated and provided mental health crisis counseling for NYC Emergency Management employees and community and faith leaders during the COVID 19 pandemic crisis.
Gheith has a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) credential by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), Certified Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and certified Lead Auditor by the International Consortium for Organizational Resilience. He has a certificate in advanced studies and research in international organizations.
Gheith is professional Mental Health First Aid and Psychological First Aid Instructor and an expert in developing culturally competency training workshops for first responders to assist them in providing culturally appropriate services for diverse communities. Gheith is an expert in disaster chaplaincy training for multi-faith communities. Gheith’s areas of expertise include risk communication, long-term recovery, ethnography, project management, crisis counseling and business continuity. As an expert on Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, he conducted the first known research on the mental health needs of New York Muslims and the role of the Imams in the day-to-day lives of American-Muslim communities while working as a senior research assistant at Columbia University.
Gheith is the recipient of the NYC Distinguished Service Award for his work with community and faith leaders across New York City. He is a board advisor to the New York Disaster Interfaith Services and the Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management in NYC.
For information about The MCNY School for Public Affairs and Administration and the BA in Emergency Management/Business Continuity, MPA Emergency and Disaster Management (EDM) Residence and MPA Online programs, please visit mcny.edu.
