Tony Robinson was selected in January 2013 to serve as the first career Regional Administrator for the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 6 office located in Denton, Texas. As Regional Administrator, Mr. Robinson is responsible for the direction and leadership of FEMA’s efforts in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, NewMexico, Oklahoma, Texas and 68 federally-recognized tribal nations within this geographic area. Under Mr. Robinson’s leadership, the Region awarded and managed over $1 billion in grant funding each fiscal year to assist Region 6 partners in building capabilities and recovering from disasters.
Mr. Robinson began his career with FEMA as an intern in 1987. Since that time he has held various leadership positions leading to his selection as the Deputy Regional Administrator in 2009. He led FEMA’s response and recovery efforts on many notable disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey, Isaac, Ike, Gustav, Rita and Katrina, 2016 Louisiana floods and 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes. Most recently, he led the Region 6 coordination efforts to COVID-19 with Presidential disaster declarations in all states and tribes.
In addition to his valuable leadership during Presidential Disaster Declarations, he served in numerous special assignments and was appointed by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to serve as the Deputy Federal Coordinator for Super Bowl XLV in 2011, functioning as the primary liaison for federal consequence management efforts. He also served in special international assignments with the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) in Argentina and the Border Governors Conference in Mexico, providing subject matter technical assistance on domestic emergency management operations.
From 1995 to 2007, Mr. Robinson served on FEMA’s National Response Team, supporting National Special Security Events (NSSEs) including the 2004 G8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah and Presidentially Declared Disasters including 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, Typhoon Pongsona, in Guam, Hurricanes Opal, Fran, Lili, and Charley.