FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell Announces Appointment of New and Returning Members to the Agency's National Advisory Council

WASHINGTON -- Today, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced the appointment of 10 new members and three returning members to the agency's National Advisory Council.

“The National Advisory Council brings together a broad range of experts and critical partners to help us build the FEMA our nation needs and deserves,” said Administrator Criswell. “These new appointments, led by our new NAC Chair Donald Bliss, will provide our agency with valuable guidance and insight as we carry out our mission of helping people before, during and after disasters.”

 “We will continue to provide valuable guidance and advice to the Administrator with innovative approaches that better serve disaster survivors in state, local, territorial and Tribal communities,” said Donald Bliss. "Our focus for 2025 is on strengthening consequence management, improving long-term risk reduction and addressing the challenges of technology, security and innovation in emergency management.” 

Bliss is supported in leadership by NAC Vice-Chair Michael Antoine, NAC Secretary Andrew Phelps and a team of subcommittee chairs and vice chairs. Chair Bliss thanks Carrie Speranza, now Chair Emeritus, for her leadership and vision saying, “Her trailblazing ideas have been an inspiration to all NAC members.” 

The National Advisory Council advises the FEMA administrator on all aspects of emergency management, including preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation for disasters and national emergencies. Council members represent a substantive cross-section of 40 geographically diverse officials, emergency managers and emergency response providers from state, local, tribal and territorial governments, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations. 

Since its creation in 2006, the council has provided hundreds of recommendations to FEMA on a variety of key emergency management topics.

Of the 13 council members selected, 10 are new appointments. Members will serve multi-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and will guide and inform future recommendations. 

The following 10 new members will begin their first term of appointment on January 1, 2025:

• Ms. Marissa Aho, Climate Director, Executive Climate Office, King County, Washington
• Mr. Diogenes Ayala, Emergency Manager, MercyOne, Des Moines, Iowa
• Mr. William Driscoll Jr., State Senator, Representing Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol, Massachusetts 
• Chief David Hill, Principal Chief, Muscogee (Creek) Nation
• Mr. Marc Pappas, Director, Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, Rhode Island
• Mr. Justin Pierce, Director, Emergency Management Department, Charleston County Government, South Carolina 
• Mr. John Pisowicz, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Porter County, Indiana 
• Dr. Vincent Torres, Medical Doctor, Emergency Medicine, Providence Portland Medical Center, Oregon 
• Mr. Dillon Taylor, Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia  
• Mr. Brian Baker, Vice President, Hagerty Consulting, Washington, District of Columbia  

One member will begin her second term on January 1, 2025:

• Tonya Graham, Mayor, City of Ashland, Oregon  

Also on January 1, 2025, two previously appointed NAC member appointments will be updated. Moving from the role of Director of Houston Emergency Management to the Chief of the Houston Fire Department, Thomas Muñoz will similarly shift roles on the NAC from an Emergency Management Representative seat to an Emergency Response Provider seat. Justin Kates was selected to fill the two years remaining in the term of the Emergency Management Representative seat vacated by Chief Munoz. 

• Justin Kates, Senior Business Continuity Advisor, Wawa Inc, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  
• Thomas Muñoz, Chief, Houston Fire Department, Texas 

On November 30, 2024, the following members concluded their terms of appointment:

• Kathy Baughman McLeod, Chief Executive Officer, Climate Resilience for All, Washington, District of Columbia 
• Jody Ferguson, Director (Ret.), Pierce County, Department of Emergency Management, Tacoma 
• Tim Gleason, City Manager, City of Decatur Illinois 
• Ramesh Kolluru, Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development, University of Louisiana 
• Ryan Lanclos, Director, National Government and Public Safety Solutions, Esri
• Kelly McKinney, Assistant Vice President of Emergency Management and Enterprise Resilience, New York University Langone Health 
• Paula Pagniez, Head of Origination and Client Engagement, Climate Risk and Resilience Executive Director, Howden Group Holdings
• William “Brad” Richy, Director, Office of Emergency Management, State of Idaho 

For additional information about the council, visit FEMA.gov.