Marathon Petroleum Company
John Ellis, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Marathon Petroleum Corp. & Director, U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Incident Management and Preparedness Directorate
Q: What are your responsibilities?
A: As the director of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Incident Management and Preparedness Directorate, I coordinate the development of policies and procedures to provide qualified auxiliary members for Coast Guard preparedness and incident management- related activities. The directorate is focused on implementation of the incident command system, supporting contingency planning efforts, helping with preparedness activities (including exercises) and ensuring that we have qualified auxiliary members to send to any response request.
At Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC), I am the Corporate Emergency Preparedness Group’s Transport and Logistics emergency preparedness coordinator. My responsibilities include assisting in maintaining the corporate Emergency Preparedness Policy and Plan, assisting with training and exercising our Corporate Emergency Response Team, while assessing the overall emergency preparedness of the corporation.
Q: What led to your position, and what education does it require?
Marathon
A: The director is appointed by the National Commodore of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, with concurrence from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Chief, Auxiliary and Boating Safety Office.
The position requires experience and training in the Coast Guard’s Incident Management and Crisis Response, as well as belief in your abilities to develop policies and procedures to respond to the Coast Guard’s request for forces.
I started in the Incident Management Division of the Operations Directorate and was later promoted to division chief — Incident Management. After the responses to Hurricane Katrina and Deepwater Horizon, the Incident Management Directorate was established. I was promoted to deputy director in 2012 and promoted to director in 2013.
I joined MPC in 2014 as an emergency preparedness coordinator. My overall emergency preparedness experience and U.S. Coast Guard experience and training are assets in my position. My 25 years of experience with the Coast Guard, primarily in emergency response, are beneficial in my MPC position.
Q: What has been your proudest achievement so far in your role?
A: I have several achievements of which I am most proud, including being one of the authors of a Coast Guard Incident Management Handbook and an Incident Management and Crisis Response publication. I was also appointed to be the project lead for one of the National Commodore’s Strategic Plan Initiatives being used across the auxiliary.
At MPC, my proudest achievement to date has been when students who have attended my training come to me during an exercise or actual response and say, “I get it now; it makes sense!”
Q: What has surprised you the most about your job?
A: With 75 years of operations, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary embraces its vision to be the best-trained, most valued maritime volunteer organization in the world. The ability of our citizens to volunteer their time and resources in support of the U.S. never ceases to amaze me.
MPC has a strong level of focus on safety and emergency preparedness. While the Coast Guard is very focused on safety, MPC’s articulation of both is very clear.
Q: What do you enjoy about your role?
A: I enjoy it all. Seeing the directorate grow and provide policy and procedure guidance to auxiliarists in order to support the Coast Guard in its mission set is amazing. I have such great staff and support; watching the directorate and staff grow is what I enjoy most.
I enjoy the interaction with all the organizations at MPC and being able to share the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years to others, both in and out of the company. •
