PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announces the appointment of ten new members and the reappointment of five members to the FEMA National Advisory Council (NAC).

The NAC is an advisory committee established to ensure effective and ongoing coordination of federal preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation for natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.  Members represent the whole community including public health, tribal government and functional and access needs, and provide recommendations on a variety of issues within emergency management to the FEMA Administrator.

FEMA received over 500 applications for these positions.  Each applicant was carefully considered through an intensive review process that included a membership recommendation panel of senior government officials.

“The National Advisory Council provides FEMA with advice and recommendations on how to achieve the Agency’s mission,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.  “We look forward to continued dialogue on emergency management to support states, strengthen outreach efforts to Indian Country, and engage the whole community to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.  Both the new and reappointed members represent a cross section of the emergency management team and their insight is valued.”

The new NAC members are:

Mr. Chris E. Howell, Tribal Liaison/Executive Director, Kansas Native American Affairs (Topeka, KS)

Mr. Bart Johnson, Executive Director, International Association of Chiefs of Police (Alexandria, VA)

Dr. Emily Gayle Kidd, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio (San Antonio, TX)

Chief W. Nim Kidd, Assistant Director/Chief, Texas Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management (Austin, TX)

Ms. Linda Langston, Linn County Supervisor (Cedar Rapids, IA)

Mr. Brian Lugo, Elected Tribal Councilmember, Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Southern California (Banning, CA)

Dr. Suzet McKinney, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response and Division of Women & Children’s Health, Chicago Department of Public Health (Chicago, IL)

Mr. Richard Alan Reed, Vice President, Preparedness and Resilience Strategy, American Red Cross (Bethesda, MD)

Mr. Robert Salesses, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Integration and Defense Support of Civil Authorities, U.S. Department of Defense (Washington, DC)

Mr. Dennis Joseph Storemski, Director, City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office of Public Safety & Homeland Security (Houston, TX)

The reappointed NAC members are:

Ms. Elizabeth Armstrong, Executive Director, International Association of Emergency Managers (Falls Church, VA)

Mr. Mark A. Cooper, Senior Director, Emergency Management, Wal-Mart (Rogers, AR)

Ms. Nancy Dragani, Executive Director, Ohio Emergency Management Agency (Columbus, OH)

Ms. June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant (Playa del Rey, CA)

Ms. Teresa Scott, Executive Director, City of Gainesville, Public Works Department (Gainesville, FL)

Additional information on the NAC, including a list of current members, can be found at fema.gov/national-advisory-council.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at fema.gov/medialibrary and youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3.