TOP 10 INFLUENTIAL WOMEN LEADERS OF 2026
ABBY DOBSON
EMERGENCY DISASTER SERVICES
In the world of emergency response where families are displaced, businesses are disrupted, and communities are counting on someone to show up – leadership is not defined by hierarchy. It is defined by the ability to restore stability when everything around you is unstable. Abby Dobson, President of Emergency Disaster Services (EDS), has built her career on that belief. For her, operational excellence is not a set of procedures; it is a living system built to support people in their most vulnerable moments.
Her rise to the helm of EDS was shaped not by a single defining event, but by years of witnessing what happens when systems look strong on paper yet fail under real world pressure. Early career setbacks, misalignments, and gaps in communication taught her to look deeper – beyond tasks and timelines – into the human impact of every decision. Those experiences sharpened her instincts and grounded her leadership philosophy in something simple but powerful: service must be dependable, compassionate, and built on trust, a simple philosophy she learned from her predecessor, EDS’ founder and her father Jerry Lundergan.
When she stepped into the presidency, Dobson carried with her a clear set of priorities: build a team with integrity, create clarity where confusion once lived, and ensure that every part of the organization, from sales and customer service to logistics, field operations, and onsite response, worked together seamlessly. Over time, those priorities expanded into a broader mission: strengthening resilience, elevating customer experience, expanding company capabilities and preparing communities not just to recover from disasters, but to withstand them.
Under her leadership, EDS has undergone a quiet but meaningful transformation. Strategic hires and realigned responsibilities created a stronger foundation of accountability. Bringing in a Marketing and Creative Director helped EDS communicate its value with clarity and consistency, ensuring that customers understand not only what the company does, but how deeply it cares about doing it well. Expanding the fleet and investing in equipment allowed EDS to respond faster, take on more complex projects, and deliver the level of service customers deserve, without ever compromising quality and most recently acquiring Bergeron Emergency Services allows the team to provide Debris Removal to customers nationwide.
In a highstakes environment where response time can determine the extent of damage, Dobson leads with a style that is both decisive and deeply human. She believes preparation is a form of respect for her team, for clients, and for the communities they serve. Shared protocols, scenario planning, and clear communications ensure that when the pressure rises, the team moves as one. Her leadership is steady, transparent, and rooted in the belief that trust is earned through competence, consistency, and followthrough.
Her approach to team development mirrors her approach to service; clarity first, teamwork second and continued education always. She rejects the idea that resilience comes from heroics. Instead, she builds it through thoughtful reflection, continuous improvement, and open conversations about what worked and what didn’t. Setbacks are not failures; they are opportunities to strengthen the system. She pairs high expectations with high support, ensuring her team has the tools, training, and confidence to deliver exceptional service every time.
For Dobson, adaptability is not about chasing trends, it is about staying close to the needs of customers and communities. She invests in ongoing training, crossfunctional collaboration, and strong relationships with public agencies, nonprofits, and local leaders. EDS’s work is grounded in realworld experience, not assumptions. Innovation, in her view, is simply the commitment to be better prepared for the next call than the last.
Her leadership journey has not been without challenges; Keeping longstanding company traditions and systems in place while navigating new operational systems in an effort to move the company forward requires diplomacy, patience, and unwavering clarity, a test of emotional intelligence as much as strategy.
When evaluating new opportunities, Dobson filters every decision through a simple lens: Does this strengthen our core? Does it serve the customer? Does it support our longterm vision? Sustainability matters more than speed. Impact matters more than optics. Service matters more than expansion.
Looking ahead, she is energized by what’s possible – stronger community partnerships, more proactive preparedness efforts, and service models that help customers feel supported long before disaster strikes. She is not simply building a company; she is shaping a philosophy of readiness rooted in compassion, reliability, and human connection.
Abby Dobson’s leadership is not defined by crisis, but by what she builds in the quiet moments between them: systems that hold, teams that trust, and a standard of service that endures long after the storm has passed.
"THE ARCHITECTURE OF READINESS:
HOW ABBY DOBSON IS INFLUENCING THE NEXT GENERATION OF DISASTER RESPONSE"
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