Cait Cavanaugh
Deputy Emergency Manager, Binghamton University
As Deputy Emergency Manager, Cait oversees most day-to-day operations within the Office of Emergency Management. Acting as a generalist in the field, she has a passion for building institutional resilience through deliberate, innovative collaboration.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cait was entrusted to design and manage a complex 24/7/365 quarantine and isolation housing program for residential students. This program, nicknamed “Safe Housing,” became an example for other higher-ed institutions and cared for the physical, mental and emotional needs of thousands of students over three years.
Firmly believing in the power of community engagement, Cait plays an active role in the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Universities and Colleges Caucus. Between 2019 and 2022, she served as the Symposium Planning Committee chair, responsible for coordinating the organization’s annual gathering of higher-ed emergency management practitioners from across the nation. Cait is also an elected senator for Binghamton University’s Professional Staff Senate, where she serves as the Rules Committee chair and sits on the Executive Committee for the governing body.
Cait holds undergraduate degrees in Homeland Security and Philosophy, Politics and Law. As a lifelong learner, she is also working towards a master's degree in Public Administration with an advanced certificate in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention.
Cait resides in Port Dickinson, New York with her husband, Matt. Outside of work, she can often be found working as a member of the deck crew for motor yacht C-Gem on the Oneida River.
