Petrelis Files

FEMA P.R. Head Worked for Bush, Coke

From an old profile of the head of FEMA's public affairs office:

Natalie Rule, IBGA 1995

In the late summer of 1999, U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) gave Natalie Rule a promotion. Again. The move, from press secretary to communications director, was one of many career advancements that began with her attendance at the 1995 Institute for Business and Government Affairs (IBGA).

Natalie worked on President Bush's campaign as Victory 2000's Western United States Media Coordinator. After then serving as Press Secretary for the 54th Inaugural Committee, she was appointed as a Special Assistant to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton in the Office of Communications.

Natalie has now chosen to move her career to the private
sector. She has recently joined The Coca-Cola Company's Media Relations team as a Manager in their corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia ...
[more]

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe spokespeople for federal agencies should have extensive backgrounds in the areas for which they will be speaking about before the press and general public.

Clearly, the top person at FEMA press office is yet another Bush political appointee without experience in disaster management.