Pete Gaynor, former director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, has been confirmed by the Senate to serve as a deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said Friday that Gaynor’s confirmation came at a crucial moment, with the hurricane season just around the corner.
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In Rhode Island, Gaynor provided policy counsel to the governor and interfaced between FEMA and the state’s local emergency management offices. He also led the state interoperable communications committee and the state emergency response commission, and worked as vice chairman of the emergency management advisory council.
“His experience as both a state and local emergency manager, combined with more than two decades of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, makes him an invaluable addition to the administrator’s leadership team at FEMA,” Nielsen said.
“I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead to support the men and women of FEMA as they carry out their missions,” Nielsen added.