Regional Catastrophic Planning Team Urban Areas Security Initiative Members
Commissioner Joseph F. Bruno
NYC Office of Emergency Management
Commissioner Bruno's career in public service began in 1971, when he joined the law department as a trial attorney. Bruno was elected to the NYC Civil Court in 1991 and to the NY State Supreme Court in 2002. In March 2004, Mayor Bloomberg appointed him commissioner of the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM). Since his appointment, Commissioner Bruno has overseen the City’s implementation of the Citywide Incident Management System — the City's standard for responding to and managing emergencies and planned events. In 2006, he managed the comprehensive revision of the City's Coastal Storm Plan to ensure the City is prepared for a worst-case scenario hurricane and can shelter more than 600,000 residents. During his years as commissioner, he has coordinated the City’s responses to incidents such as the 2006 Queens blackout, the July 2007 steam pipe explosion, two crane collapses in 2008, and the spring 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak. Commissioner Bruno is a lifelong NYC resident.
Scott Di Giralomo
Director, Morris County, NJ, Department of Law and Public Safety
Scott Di Giralomo has more than 25 years of experience in public safety and emergency response. He is the director of the Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety and oversees six county divisions including the Office of Emergency Management. As director, he also serves as the county emergency management coordinator and county fire marshal. Di Giralomo was a task force leader with the NJ State Police Urban Search and Rescue Team for six years. He has served as a planning section chief on several National Special Security Events. He chairs the Northern NJ Urban Area Working Group and is cochair of the NY and NJ Regional Catastrophic Grant Program.
Regional Catastrophic Planning Team Members
David M. DeMatteo
Branch Director, State and Local Response Planning, NY State Emergency Management Office
David M. DeMatteo is branch director for State and Local Response Planning with the NY State Emergency Management Office and is the state planning lead for the RCPT. He oversees the efforts of the State Emergency Management Office Planning Section, providing planning assistance to state and local government officials in the development of preparedness and response plans. This includes developing comprehensive emergency management plans, hazard-specific and functional annexes, and continuity of operations (COOP) planning. DeMatteo has served on several state task forces to support state-level disaster planning efforts and projects. He has been the lead emergency planner in a variety of planning efforts, including the recent revision of the State Comprehensive Emergency Management plans. Over the last five years, DeMatteo has been the lead at the state level in providing technical assistance to state agencies in the development of agency-specific COOP plans. He has developed and delivered COOP-related curricula and developed model plans for agencies to use as a guide.
Douglas Fassbender
Contracts Supervisor, NY State Office of Homeland Security
Doug Fassbender currently serves as the contracts supervisor for the NY State Office of Homeland Security (OHS). The OHS serves as the State Administrative Agency for all federal homeland security grant programs. Fassbender is directly responsible for the management and oversight of all homeland security grant programs for the NYC metropolitan area, which includes NYC, the Port Authority of NY/NJ, the City of Yonkers, and Suffolk, Westchester, and Nassau counties. Fassbender has been overseeing all contracts for the metropolitan area since 2003. One of his areas of expertise is dealing with multiple jurisdictions and multiple agencies while meeting both state and federal regulations and guidelines. He retired from the military after 21 years of active duty service. Fassbender has a bachelor of science in criminal justice and a master of science in public administration.
Kevin Fowler
Captain, NJ State Police, Office of Emergency Management
Kevin Fowler is a 23-year veteran of the NJ State Police. He is presently the unit head of the Emergency Management Section, Emergency Preparedness Bureau, North Regional Unit. The North Regional Unit coordinates emergency management activities throughout the northern seven counties and 206 municipalities. In January 2007, Fowler was chosen to be the project manager for the Trans-Hudson Emergency Transportation Task Force, a comprehensive contingency plan to support transportation operations between NY and NJ. The plan was completed in July 2007 with cooperation from the US Coast Guard, NYC OEM, NYPD, Port Authority of NY/NJ, NJ Transit, NJ Department of Transportation, and NJ OEM. Fowler has a bachelor of science from Rutgers University and a master's in education from Seton Hall University.
John J. Maguire
Research Analyst, Nassau County Office of Emergency Management
John J. Maguire joined Nassau County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in 2011, working to advance the department through many public awareness initiatives and increased collaboration with Nassau County agencies. He is a 30-year member of the Freeport Fire Department, serving as a chief officer from 2001 to 2005. Prior to joining the Nassau County OEM, Maguire served as a consultant for Underwriters Laboratories (UL), where he worked closely with engineers and the Chicago Fire Department to produce a groundbreaking lightweight construction training module. He then assisted UL as a fire service liaison for an international fire service conference, where he was assigned to the Viet Nam delegation. Prior to that, Maguire focused his efforts on consumer product development eventually working as the senior brand manager for the Arnell Group’s Innovation Lab. In addition, he is also a licensed insurance adjuster and has settled many different types of property insurance claims.
Dina Maniotis
(former) Assistant Commissioner, NYC Office of Emergency Management
As the RCPT program director, Dina Maniotis has overall responsibility for the RCPGP 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. She 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.
Brad Mason
Assistant Deputy Director—Preparedness, NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
Brad Mason began his career at the NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness in 2008. Prior to this assignment, he spent eight years in FEMA Region 2 as acting branch chief for Response Operations. During his tenure at FEMA, he was assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force for NYC and in 2004 served as a cochair for consequence management planning in preparation for the Republican National Convention. In addition, Mason has served as vice president of global crisis management for a large NYC-based financial institution and worked on the congressional staff in the US House of Representatives for five years. He is a graduate of Rutgers University.
Kelly R. McKinney
(former) Deputy Commissioner for Preparedness at NYC Office of Emergency Management
Kelly R. McKinney is a professional engineer with 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors and notable expertise in hazardous waste remediation and industrial hygiene. Prior to joining NYC OEM, McKinney was the associate commissioner for environmental health at the NYC Department of Health. McKinney has a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas and a master of public administration from Columbia University.
Joseph Picciano
Deputy Director for Preparedness, NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
After 30 years with FEMA, Joseph Picciano joined the NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness in 2007 as the deputy principal federal official for the Hurricane Katrina response in the Gulf States. He was also appointed as the deputy principal federal official for the northeast US for the 2006 hurricane season. Prior to that, he served as the acting regional director for the FEMA NYC office, during which he oversaw the WTC federal recovery effort. Among his many professional distinctions, he has been a Presidential Disaster Area federal coordinating officer and participated in responses across the nation, was awarded the FEMA Director’s Award for his service during 9/11, and served as principal federal official for TOPOFF3 in NJ, a major weapons of mass destruction exercise. He has a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Newark College of Engineering and a master's degree in civil engineering from NJ Institute of Technology. He was honored as a distinguished alumnus for 2002 and is a licensed professional engineer.
Edward C. Schneyer
Director of Emergency Preparedness, Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management
Edward C. Schneyer is the director of emergency preparedness for the Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management. Schneyer has been employed by the Suffolk County Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services for 24 years, previously working in various roles, including emergency services dispatcher and fire marshal. Additionally, Schneyer is a 27-year veteran of volunteer fire and EMS departments and is a past chief. He has a degree in business administration from SUNY Farmingdale.
Jennifer Wacha
Director, Westchester County Office of Emergency Management
Jennifer Wacha is the director of the Westchester County Office of Emergency Management (OEM). She has been employed by Westchester for four years and currently coordinates the County’s emergency management planning and preparedness programs. Prior to joining Westchester OEM, Wacha was a firefighter and hazardous materials technician with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in Virginia and an instructor at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. Wacha has a degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.