Pete Gaynor

Peter Thomas Gaynor (born 1958) is an American Certified Emergency Manager who is the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He was appointed as Acting Administrator by President Donald Trump on March 8, 2019, and became Administrator on January 16, 2020.

Pete Gaynor
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Incumbent
Assumed office March 8, 2019 Acting: March 8, 2019 – January 16, 2020
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Brock Long
Deputy Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
In office October 11, 2018 – March 8, 2019
President	Donald Trump
Succeeded by	Daniel Kaniewski (acting)
Personal details
Born	Peter Thomas Gaynor 1958 (age 61–62) Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
Education	Community College of Rhode Island Rhode Island College (BA) Naval War College (MA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1977–2007
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel

Education

Gaynor attended Community College of Rhode Island from 1982 to 1984, and Rhode Island College from 1984 to 1986, graduating with a BA in History. While in the Marines, he earned a MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 2001. He completed the Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Postgraduate School in 2013.[1]

Career

Gaynor served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 26 years, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the executive officer responsible for the security of Camp David; was the head of Plans, Policy, and Operations at the Headquarters, Marine Corps, during the September 11 attacks; and deployed with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force where he coordinated combat operations in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, for multinational and Marine forces.[2]

From March 2008 to December 2014, Gaynor was the director of the Providence Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security. A colleague there describes him as being prepared for anything and respectful of the chain of command because of his military experience.[3]

From January 2015 to October 2018, Gaynor was the director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA).[4] During that time, RIEMA responded to numerous small and large disasters, including one presidentially declared disaster and at least seven pre-existing active federal disasters. Gaynor oversaw response and recovery efforts to blizzards, floods, tropical storms and public health emergencies. He also coordinated evacuations, mass care, special events, and school safety.[5]

FEMA

Gaynor was confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018, as the deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).[6]

On March 8, 2019, when Administrator Brock Long returned to the private sector, Gaynor became acting administrator. Gaynor was in charge of the agency's recovery efforts for many disasters, including the California wildfires, tornado outbreaks, severe storms, flooding in the Midwest and the Puerto Rico earthquakes.[6] On January 14, 2020, the Senate confirmed Gaynor as administrator with a vote of 81 to 8.[6][4] He was sworn in two days later.[7]

References

1. "ELP alum, retired Marine, tapped for Deputy Administrator at FEMA". July 13, 2018.
2. "R.I. Marine Colonel Leads Emergency Response Operations for Providence". Government Technology. February 26, 2008.
3. Barr, Luke (March 25, 2020). "FEMA Chief prepared for COVID-19 challenge, former colleagues say". ABC News.
4. "Senate Confirms Gaynor to Lead FEMA on 81-8 Vote – Homeland Security Today". Retrieved March 22, 2020.
5. "Rhode Island native Pete Gaynor named FEMA administrator". International Code Council. January 15, 2020.
6. "Gaynor named full-time FEMA administrator". WPRI. January 14, 2020.
7. "Open Letter from FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor". January 16, 2020.

External links

• Peter T. Gaynor biography at FEMA
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Political offices
Preceded by Brock Long	Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 2019–present Acting: 2019–2020	Incumbent