With a love of crawly things and creatures the average person would avoid, Ariel Poirier loved bugs since childhood. Everyone has dreams of being something as a child, but she followed that dream, and it led her to becoming a biologist. She made a career out of it and now works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District.
Since entering the profession, she had the ability to harness her caring side and apply it to her work. So, when tragedy struck Baltimore, Poirier was one of the first to raise her hand and volunteer to be a member of the district's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Within days, hundreds would join her in what would become the Key Bridge Response team, which operated from the Incident Command Post (ICP) at the Maryland Cruise Terminal in Baltimore.
With a full staff and plenty of coordinating to do, Poirier was positioned as an operations liaison with the EOC. She served onsite from the outset of the collapse on March 26, only recently demobilizing after a month of work on the response. In this high-stress environment, she celebrates the nuances by embracing the vast number of different personalities she has encountered. “It has been amazing to meet different USACE employees, learn about their areas of expertise, and experience the interconnectedness that makes the Unified Command function.”
In this temporary position, she kept track of several moving pieces and relayed that information to the various department heads. During an emergency such as this one, an operations liaison serves as a vital link between the EOC, response teams, and other stakeholders, ensuring all parties are working together effectively to manage the crisis and protect the community. The operations liaison helps maintain accurate records of the response efforts, including decisions made, actions taken, and resources deployed. They also contribute to the preparation of situation reports and after-action reviews.
During Poirier’s service at the ICP, the experiences of the versatile operation added to the learning made possible by her career with USACE.
With nearly two years at the agency, Poirier has become a vital part of the organization.
“Ariel, like a few others, has shown she is not just tied to her job title, she has a wealth of information and is as versatile as they come," said Rebecca Fosnight, EOC operations management specialist. "Her dedication to mission success and commitment to the USACE family has made me proud to have her as a colleague.”
During the response, as long and consecutive duty days persisted, Poirier described the heavy challenges she experienced with balancing work and life dynamics.
“I struggled finding time to spend with family and friends,” said Poirier. “But this is all temporary though, and I have a wonderful support system that made it easy to keep my focus on the mission.” As the response efforts continued, Poirier remained steadfast in her commitment to the mission, demonstrating the vital role that passionate professionals play in times of crisis.
“I gave this mission my complete focus and attention,” Poirier said. “My strength to fulfill the role was inspired by knowing the many impacts the collapse has had on people and the economy. Lives were lost, navigation halted, and people’s lives were directly impacted. Loss and change are difficult, and knowing this, it’s easy to care. It’s human to step up and do your part during times of trouble, and that’s what motivates me.”