Meet Alex Abdun-Nabi, CapMetro’s Emergency Preparedness Program Manager who’s been with the agency for the past 4 years and is lovingly nicknamed Mr. Doom & Gloom.
Alex has over 10 years of experience as an emergency manager, having previously worked with other agencies in Texas and Michigan. His love of public transit started as a child growing up and riding WMATA service in DC, so when he stumbled upon the opportunity to work at CapMetro, it seemed like a no-brainer to combine his passions.
There is no typical day for Alex and his team. Their duties involve working with all departments across CapMetro, partnering with local agencies to plan for emergencies and disasters and being prepared to respond at any time. This can range from evacuating customers from a damaged bus to keeping the transit system running during harsh winter weather.
In his free time, you can find him hiking and trying out new restaurants with his girlfriend. And his hot take? Millennials shouldn’t be made fun of for being millennials. He adds, “We grew up in a generation where things were exciting and interesting—and we should be able to look back with nostalgia and it shouldn’t be frowned upon.”
In closing, he leaves you with these 5 everyday safety tips…
#1: Write down your emergency contacts. Don’t just keep them on your phone. “Have a way to be in contact with each other.”
#2: Know where your loved ones/roommates are. “You should ideally know where your kids go to school. Do you know where people in your home work?—In the event that you can’t get ahold of your loved one.”
#3: Have an emergency kit & rations. “It doesn’t have to be expensive prepper stuff.”
#4: Be aware of your surroundings. “Check the weather—and know what’s happening in your community—It could be as simple as there’s going to be traffic today because there’s a UT game—or as complicated as there’s a winter storm coming.”
#5: Build connections with your neighbors. “One of the biggest things we see in emergencies and disasters is that there’s often more need than any individual organization can meet.”
Do you have a passion for helping people get where they need to go? Get your career started at capmetro.org/jobs
