Nancy L. Ward
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nancy L. Ward is the Director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and
Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
Adviser An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs catego ...
to the
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
. Previously, Ward served in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the Regional Administrator for Region IX (which serves AZ, CA,
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, HI, NV,
CNMI The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.Lin, Tom C.W.Ameri ...
, RMI, FSM and
American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...
) from 2006 until 2014. During this time, from January until May of 2009, Ward was selected to serve as FEMA's Acting Administrator by her predecessor, R. David Paulison to serve in his place after he retired on January 21, 2009.(Archived by WebCite at ) She returned to the position of Region IX Administrator in May 2009 after Craig Fugate was appointed as Federal Administrator.Nancy Ward - biography on FEMA website
/ref>


Biography

Before joining FEMA, Ward was Chief of the Disaster Assistance Branch and Deputy State Coordinating Officer for Cal OES. She administered the state's Natural Disaster Assistance Act program assistance provisions, which provide disaster assistance funding to local governments for state-level emergencies and disasters. Ward served as FEMA Response and Recovery Division Director in 2000 until she became the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region IX in October 2006. In this role, she oversaw FEMA's response and recovery operations for
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
. She also served in various senior management positions in more than 20 disasters, including the earthquake in Hawaii, and the severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in California in 2006. Ward has received awards for special accomplishments at FEMA, including the 2007 Award for Excellence for her leadership during the California wildfires. Ward left FEMA to rejoin Cal OES as Chief Deputy Director and Department of Homeland Security Advisor in 2014 and remained in that position until 2017 when she became a Retired Annuitant at Cal OES. In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Ward as the Director of Cal OES.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Nancy L. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials Living people 1950s births Year of birth uncertain