Abstract
Emergency management (EM) director positions will continue to grow by three percent through 2032. This study aimed to employ interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) and delve into the personal experiences of EM professionals to gain insights into the components needed to professionalize the field, which is the study's purpose. Coupled with sociological and systems theories, IPA provided a comprehensive framework, elucidating key challenges in EM from 10 experienced professionals in leadership roles who have served in EM for more than 6 years. This article shares the discussion surrounding the study's findings, highlighting areas for improvement, offering strategic recommendations for an EM oversight organization, and implementing measures to advance professionalization, drawing from participant insights and established theorists. A governing organization body is noted to be needed by participants to achieve professionalization. Furthermore, according to participants, based on information gathered from this study, there should be a focus on finding this governing organizational body, other than Federal Emergency Management Agency, International Association of Emergency Managers, or any organization that may benefit financially from oversight. Implications of these findings for the field, limitations of this study, and future recommended directions for research are detailed in this article. Legislation was proposed to form a commission, comprised of 21 members of the EM community, to make recommendations for the furtherance of four initiatives closely associated with the activities of the field shared by participants in this study: funding of directorships, education programs, scholarships, and licensure. Findings from this study indicate that we need to continue to see these -initiatives through. Therefore, it is recommended that EM professionals continue to seek out the development of commissions to move toward professionalization.