Fact Sheet 

Local, State, Tribal, and Federal Preparedness Task Force 


The Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-83, directed that the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
establish and oversee a “Local, State, Tribal, and Federal preparedness task force” (“Task 
Force”) to take stock of the numerous efforts that have shaped preparedness policy, guidance, 
and investments since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and find ways to ensure that the performance 
of similar efforts in the future is efficient, streamlined, and measurable. 

“The recommendations of this Task Force—comprised of emergency management and homeland 
security experts from states, cities, and tribes across the country—will help guide our ongoing 
efforts to ensure resiliency in communities across America.” - Secretary of Homeland Security 
Janet Napolitano 

 

Mission 

The task force is charged with making recommendations for all levels of government regarding: 
disaster and emergency guidance and policy; federal grants; and federal requirements, including 
measuring efforts. 

 

Focus 

The task force shall especially evaluate: which policies and guidance need updating, and the 
most appropriate process by which to update them; which grant programs work the most 
effectively and where programs can be improved, and the most appropriate way to collectively 
assess our capabilities and our capability gaps. 

 

Participation 

The Task Force is comprised of members representing local, state, tribal, and territorial 
governments who are leading homeland security decision-makers and practitioners from a 
variety of disciplines, as well as ex officio members representing federal departments and 
agencies. Individual recommendations from non-governmental contributors to the homeland 
security enterprise, especially the private sector and citizens, have been captured through 
complementary “town hall” meetings and an interactive, online dialogue hosted concurrently 
with the Task Force members’ efforts. 

 

Process 

FEMA Protection and National Preparedness, in cooperation with the DHS Office of 
Intergovernmental Affairs, administers the activities of the Task Force. Subject-specific working 
groups comprised of Task Force members have been augmented by the non-member contributions, 
culminating in the delivery of a report of findings and recommendations to Congress in October 
2010. 

 

Contact 

For additional information or to participate in the Task Force’s online dialogue, please visit: 
http://www.fema.gov/preparednesstaskforce/ 
 

Membership 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

 



The Task Force is comprised of members recommended from local, state, and tribal governments 
(below), along with ex officio members representing select federal departments and agencies. 

 

Charles H. Ada II, Administrator, Guam Office of Civil Defense 

 

Karen Baker, Secretary of Service and Volunteering, State of California 

 

John Cary Bittick, Sheriff, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Georgia 

 

Dave Bunce, Fire Chief, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Fire Department, Arizona 

 

Jeffery C. Cash, Fire Chief and Emergency Manager, City of Cherryville Fire Department, North 
Carolina 

 

Salvatore Cassano, Commissioner, City of New York Fire Department 

 

T.M. Franklin Cownie, Mayor, City of Des Moines, Iowa 

 

Nicholas L. Crossley, CEM, Director, Johnson County, Kansas, Emergency Management and 
Homeland Security 

 

Edward F. Davis, Commissioner, City of Boston Police Department, Massachusetts 

 

Robert DesRosier, Director, Blackfeet Nation Homeland Security Program and Emergency 
Services Program, Montana 

 

Margaret Donnelly, Director, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services 

 

Patricia Dukes, Chief of Emergency Medical Services, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii 

 

Brigadier General Donald P. Dunbar, Adjutant General, State of Wisconsin 

 

Angela English, Executive Director, Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities 

 

Charley English, Director and Homeland Security Advisor, Georgia Emergency Management 
Agency 

 

Anthony H. Griffin, County Executive, Fairfax County, Virginia 

 

Dwight E. Henninger, Chief of Police, Town of Vail Police Department, Colorado 

 

James D. Himes, Assistant Director, Metro Nashville and Davidson County Department of 
Public Works, Tennessee 


H. Douglas Hoell, Jr., Director, North Carolina Division of Emergency Management 

 

 


Jeffrey D. Johnson, Former Fire Chief/Administrator, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Oregon 

 

Hans Kallam, Director, Colorado Division of Emergency Management 

 

Ronald Lane, Director, County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services, California 

 

Joseph LaPorte, Former Public Safety Director, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan 

 

John W. Ledbetter, Executive Director, Mississippi Office of Homeland Security 

 

Pamela L‘Heureux, Director of Emergency Management, Waterboro, Maine 

 

John W. Madden, Director, Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 

 

Raymond Orozco, Mayor’s Chief of Staff, City of Chicago, Illinois 

 

James Page, Executive Director, Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System 

 

Kerry Pettingill, Director, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security 

 

David Taylor, State Chief Information Officer and Executive Director, Agency for Enterprise 
Information Technology, Florida 

 

MaryAnn E. Tierney, Former Deputy Managing Director for Emergency Management, City of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

 

Alan Dennis (A.D.) Vickery, Assistant Chief of Risk Management, Seattle Fire Department, 
Washington 

 

John Wageman, State Hazard Mitigation Officer, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency 
Management Division, 

 

John Wheeler, Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and 
Emergency Management 

 

Thomas Wyss, State Senator, Indiana State Senate 

 

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