dePalo brings 35 years of all-hazard emergency management and disaster response expertise to the Disaster Tech community.
Washington, D.C. Tuesday, February 23, 2021 – Today, Disaster Tech announced the appointment of Lee dePalo, retired Air Force colonel and former FEMA Region VIII Administrator, as a senior advisor to the company.
Since 2017, Mr. dePalo oversaw and coordinated FEMA’s all-hazards preparedness and emergency management efforts within the region’s 29 tribal nations, as well as the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. While serving as the Regional Administrator, dePalo was responsible for responding to COVID-19 and executing FEMA’s preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation programs in parallel with partners from all levels of government, volunteer and faith-based groups, as well as with the private sector.
“Lee’s decades of exemplary service to our nation and his leadership in emergency management innovation are strategic assets to our company and its success,” said Sean Griffin, CEO and co-founder of Disaster Tech. “Lee’s focus as Region VIII administrator on mission-aligned innovation for emergency management is exactly what we are accomplishing at Disaster Tech: accelerate the development and deployment mission-driven technology to save lives, build resilience, and protect the environment before, during, and after disasters.”
Prior to this role, Mr. dePalo served a crucial role in leading FEMA’s response and disaster operations as response division director for FEMA Region VIII and federal coordinating officer. Both positions were focused on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of responding to a catastrophic disaster. In addition to his work with FEMA, dePalo brings 26 years of service with the U.S. Air Force, as well as experience with developing a leadership program for the U.S. Special Operations Command, which he conducted with Jacobs Technology.
“Disaster Tech is improving an area of emergency management that will transform the way teams respond before, during and after a disaster: situational awareness,” said Lee dePalo, Senior Advisor at Disaster Tech and former FEMA Regional Administrator. “I look forward to working alongside an energized team of people who are motivated to bring innovation to this space.”
Mr. dePalo received his bachelor of science in management from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He also holds a master of strategic studies degree from the Air War College, as well as a master of arts degree in management from Webster University.
About Disaster Tech
Disaster Tech, a veteran-owned public benefit company, offers data science and decision science technologies for situational awareness, operational coordination, and risk management before, during, and after disasters. Disaster Tech’s goal is to save lives, protect the environment, and build resilient communities by providing the most sophisticated, advanced analytics and distributed high-performance computing platform on the planet. Find more at https://www.disastertech.com/
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