After having served as a first responder, Harman later took on other training and leadership positions.

In 2004, she joined the International Association of Fire Fighters, a lobbying organization that represents over 296,000 full-time professional firefighters and paramedics. As a member of IAFF Local 2702, she gained experience managing the training, planning, and equipment needed for fire response. Harman was named director of the IAFF's Hazardous Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction Training Department in 2005, where she is responsible for overseeing North America's largest HazMat/WMD training program for firefighters, and managing the millions of federal dollars that fund it.

She has also applied her knowledge of first response and training as a faculty member at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute at the University of Maryland and George Washington University, and has taught at the Johns Hopkin's University School of Medicine and Northwestern State University.

Harman also served as state administrator for exercise and training for the National Capital Region at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. There, she coordinated with response teams at the local, state and federal levels to respond to disasters and evaluate the quality of relief services. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Harman was the state liaison under the incident managements system, helping to receive evacuees from the ravaged sites.

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