Who We Are

Kayla Beckerdite is the Emergency Services Director. Before relocating to Manitowoc County, she lived in Des Moines, IA and was employed by the American Red Cross. During her time with the Red Cross, Kayla oversaw disaster preparedness and response programs for 21 counties in Southern Iowa, in addition to serving as the lead subject matter expert for statewide response programs, information and planning, mass care, and logistics. While with the Red Cross, Kayla responded to multiple disasters including floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires as planning section chief. Most notably, she was on the leadership teams for responses to the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA and Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the USVI. Prior to her time with the Red Cross, Kayla served as an AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps Team Leader assigned to the Individual Assistance Cadre for both Hurricane Joaquin and historic flooding in San Marcos, Texas.

She has a B.S in both Emergency and Disaster Management and Criminology from Western Carolina University.

Betsy Olson has worked in the emergency services field for over 3 years prior to becoming the Manitowoc County Emergency Services Deputy Director in 2023. Previously she worked as an Emergency Dispatcher for Manitowoc County, and had managed a local business for over 10 years. Betsy was born and raised in the Manitowoc area and has a passion for helping the citizens of the community when emergencies and disasters strike. She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of emergency management and preparedness as well as continuing to serve the community she calls home. In her downtime she enjoys traveling and exploring the outdoors with her family.