James K. Joseph has been appointed as regional administrator of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), began his service on Monday, November 13.  As Region V’s administrator, Joseph will oversee a six-state region that includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

“I am honored to have received this appointment by the Trump administration to serve in this important role,” said Joseph.  “I look forward to using my experience at the state and local level as I work with the states in Region V to enhance our readiness posture to confront the threats we face.”

Joseph brings over 15 years of senior emergency management leadership experience at both the state and local level as well as in the private sector.  Most recently, he served as the director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and Deputy State Homeland Security Adviser since 2015. As a member of Illinois Governor Rauner’s cabinet, Joseph oversaw the state’s disaster preparedness and response, nuclear safety and homeland security programs, as well as more than 200 agency employees and a budget of nearly $500 million. Prior to joining the Rauner administration, Joseph served as the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for DuPage County, IL (Illinois’ second largest county) where he oversaw three county departments.

Joseph also founded his own company providing consulting services in security operations, workplace violence prevention and emergency management to both government and corporate clients. Prior to this, he was the Vice President of Security and Fraud Risk for HSBC – North America, the world’s third largest bank. There, he created and implemented security protocols for North American operations serving nearly 70,000 employees, in addition to global security policies utilized in over 70 countries.

Joseph has served in municipal government as well, both as Chairman of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, and the Chairman Pro-Tem of the Planning and Zoning Commission in Carol Stream, IL.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that, as a nation, we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

Visit FEMA.