HOBOKEN – Lou Casciano, the coordinator of the Hoboken Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), was honored at the White House on Tuesday as part of an event called “Champions of Change,” which was designed to raise awareness about community preparedness and resilience. The event was curated by the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) and sought to bring together “community preparedness heroes.”

Casciano represented the entire CERT team, which was was honored separately by FEMA last week.

As the coordinator of the CERT team, which was founded in 2009 and assisted first responders and emergency workers following Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Casciano manages a team of over 60 Hoboken residents and works with the city, the police and fire departments, and outside agencies during emergencies.

Recently, he has taken a lead role in advising residents about the Hoboken Ready resiliency program, which is designed to help Hobokenites “self-shelter” in the event of another Sandy-type disaster. You can read more about the program at http://www.hobokennj.org/ready/.

“Lou Casciano and our CERT volunteers helped save lives during Hurricane Sandy,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “I congratulate them on this incredible honor and thank them for their ongoing work to educate and prepare our community for future emergencies through the Hoboken Ready initiative. Their efforts are an essential part of a comprehensive plan to make Hoboken more resilient.” – Dean DeChiaro