Craig Fugate

W. Craig Fugate was appointed by President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 13, 2009 to serve as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Administrator Fugate reported to FEMA on May 18, 2009, bringing with him a wealth of leadership experience to the emergency management community. Prior to coming to FEMA, Mr. Fugate served as Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). In that role since 2001, he managed 138 full-time staff and a budget of $745 million. His agency coordinated disaster response, recovery, preparedness and mitigation efforts with each of the state's 67 counties and local governments. Mr. Fugate began his emergency management career as a volunteer firefighter, Emergency Paramedic, and finally as a Lieutenant with the Alachua County Fire Rescue. In September 2003, again under Mr. Fugate's stewardship, the Florida Emergency Management Program became the first statewide emergency management program in the nation to receive full accreditation from the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). During his years at FDEM, Mr. Fugate served as the State Coordinating Officer in Florida for 11 Presidentially-declared disasters and the management of $4.5 billion in federal disaster assistance.