Dina Maniotis

Regional Catastrophic Planning Team (RCPT) Program Director

Assistant Commissioner, Planning and Preparedness NYC OEM

As the RCPT program director, Dina Maniotis has overall responsibility for the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) for the NY-NJ-CT-PA Project Site. After a career in the nonprofit sector — most recently with the Catholic Charities of Brooklyn-Queens — Maniotis joined NYC OEM in 2006 and is currently Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Preparedness. Maniotis has led development of a number of major citywide plans focused on the individuals and families impacted by disasters. These include the NYC Family Assistance Center Plan, the NYC Disaster Assistance Service Center Plan, the NYC Donations and Volunteer Management Plan, the NYC Disaster Animal Response Plan, and the Special Needs Advance Warning System. Maniotis has graduate degrees in liberal studies, family therapy, and public administration.

Erin McLachlan

Director of Program Development

As the director of program development, Erin McLachlan has the overall responsibility for training and exercising the regional plans. Erin began her career in emergency management in NYC, working with victims of September 11 at Safe Horizon, helping to develop a coordinated case-management model. During Hurricane Katrina, she took this model nationwide as the national deployment manager for the Coordinated Assistance Network, where she helped facilitate regional disaster recovery partnerships. In 2007, she moved to NYC OEM where she coordinated the human service response during several large-scale incidents and developed the citywide Family Assistance Center and Disaster Assistance Center Plans. In 2009, Erin was the regional project manager for the Mass Fatality Plan. Most recently, Erin worked in South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders. She has a master's degree in international affairs from the New School University.

Niral Patel

Executive Project Manager

As the Executive Project Manager for the RCPT, Niral Patel works with the planners at the Regional Integration Center and our planning partners to oversee all phases of the projects from initiation to close out.  Niral began his career in the US Army as a Mechanical Engineer where he led product development and implementation projects using Lean Six Sigma and US Army Acquisition methodologies. He created and implemented program schedules and strategies at the Picatinny Arsenal from 2007 to 2013. He has an EMBA in Technology Management from the Stevens Institute of Technology.