As a
member of Governor Bob Riley’s Senior Staff, Sydney
Hoffman serves as Director of The Governor’s Office of
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (GFBCI). She
has been tasked with continued implementation of the
Faith-Based Initiative for the State of Alabama within
an office that combines the Faith-Based Initiative and
existing citizen service programs such as AmeriCorps and
Citizen Corps. Governor Riley's innovative approach has
been acknowledged by the White House as a model for
other states, while Alabama AmeriCorps and Citizen Corps
have been recognized nationally and internationally,
respectively.
Currently Sydney serves as Chair of the Governor’s
Faith-Based Advisory Board, Chair of the Governor’s
Interagency Council on Homelessness, Vice Chair of the
Alabama Citizen Corps Council and member of the Alabama
Homeland Security Task Force. She was Governor
Riley’s 2007 nominee to the National Governor’s
Association for “Citizen of the Year” based on her
leadership and innovation in training Alabama’s citizens
to prepare, prevent, and respond to any natural or
man-made disaster.
Additionally, Ms. Hoffman is a graduate of the Executive
Leaders Program through the Center for Homeland
Defense & Security at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Her attendance marked the first time a proponent was
selected with an exclusive background in citizen
preparedness.
Ms. Hoffman is the primary proponent for Alabama’s
citizen preparedness initiative which is implemented via
a multifaceted approach through the Be Ready Alabama
campaign (www.ReadyAlabama.org).
This campaign is recognized by the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security as a template and promising practice
for citizen preparedness. Sydney oversees the
administration of the program through partnerships with
state and local governments as well as nongovernmental
entities such as businesses and faith and
community-based organizations. Alabama’s Be Ready Camp,
one facet of the Be Ready Alabama campaign, is an
example of that determined effort to prepare now and
also build a foundation for the future. It is through
these efforts that Be Ready Alabama has become a tool
which is examined and implemented by various agencies
and governments around the world.
Sydney’s previous experience includes leading the
Alabama Citizen Corps Program, a citizen preparedness
initiative of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
for the GFBCI. As Director of Citizen Corps, she
managed all Homeland Security and Emergency Management
community initiatives and served as the liaison to the
Alabama Department of Homeland Security and Alabama
Emergency Management Agency. Sydney also served as the
Volunteer and Donations Coordinator for Alabama during
Hurricane Katrina and has an accomplished record of
volunteer recruitment, management, and team building in
both private and public organizations.
Her
interest in citizen service began when she observed that
the most effective and lasting change usually began at
the grassroots level by people directly impacted by
their work. Sydney believes the most effective way to
meet critical local, state and national needs is to
partner government, private, and nonprofit resources
with individuals and groups at the local level since
local stakeholders have the ability to craft solutions
uniquely tailored to their community.
A native of Alabama, she is a graduate of
Birmingham-Southern College and holds degrees in biology
and nursing. Sydney can be reached at
info@ServeAlabama.gov.