MaryAnn E. Tierney is currently serving in the role of Region 3 Administrator.

Mrs. Tierney was appointed Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 3 in August 2010 and also served concurrently as Acting Regional Administrator in FEMA Region 2 for ten months following the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy on New York and New Jersey. From April to June 2017 she served as the Acting Associate Administrator for Mission Support at FEMA Headquarters. From January to June 2021 she served as Acting FEMA Deputy Administrator at FEMA Headquarters.

As Regional Administrator, Mrs. Tierney is responsible for leading FEMA’s efforts in the mid-Atlantic to help people before, during and after disasters.

From November 2006 to August 2010, Mrs. Tierney served as Director of Emergency Management in Philadelphia where she oversaw a transformation of the emergency management program by developing operational emergency plans, conducting multiagency training and exercises, building partnerships with the private sector and community organizations, and providing the public many avenues to stay informed during emergencies.

Mrs. Tierney also spent over seven years with the New York City Office of Emergency Management, ending her tenure as Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Preparedness. While working for the City of New York, Mrs. Tierney was responsible for developing and revising emergency plans as well as overseeing the City’s recovery and mitigation activities. During the City’s response to the attacks of September 11th, she held a key position coordinating debris management activities at the World Trade Center site and the Fresh Kills Landfill as well as the City’s application for Federal funding to reimburse costs associated response and recovery operations, which totaled over $4.75 billion.

Mrs. Tierney has extensive experience coordinating large complex emergency response operations. She has managed over 60 EOC activations in New York City and Philadelphia and regularly deployed to large emergencies to coordinate on-scene response activities. At FEMA, Mrs. Tierney is responsible for leading the Federal government’s response to all presidentially declared emergencies and disasters in the mid-Atlantic. In October and November 2012, she served as a Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA in New York City in response to Hurricane Sandy. In November 2017 she deployed to Puerto Rico and served as the Individual Assistance Branch Director. She is a qualified Federal Coordinating Officer and leads one of FEMA’s four National Incident Management Assistance Teams focusing on crisis and complex incident operations.

Mrs. Tierney previously served on the Department of Defense Reserve Forces Policy Board as well as a principal member of the NFPA Technical Committee on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs (NFPA 1600) and has taught graduate-level courses on emergency management.

Mrs. Tierney holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from American University and a Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in public and nonprofit management from New York University. She has also completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, the Capstone Course for one star General and Flag Officers, the Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, and the Pinnacle Course for two and three star General and Flag Officers.

MaryAnn, her husband Ed, and son Aiden reside in South Philadelphia. She is an avid runner and home chef.

Tony Edwards grew up in the beautiful mountains of northeast Tennessee and graduated in 2002 from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with an undergraduate degree in Atmospheric Sciences.  In 2003, Tony achieved a lifelong dream of working in the National Weather Service. This new career took him to the edge of the Arctic Ocean in Barrow, Alaska followed by another stop at NWS Fairbanks. Tony spent two amazing years in Alaska, but the beautiful Appalachian Mountains lured him back “home” and he accepted a position at NWS Jackson, KY in 2005. Overall, Tony spent 12 years in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, serving as a General Meteorologist, Incident Meteorologist, and Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM). In 2017, Tony made the jump over the Big Sandy River to serve as the WCM at NWS Charleston, WV.

In the WCM position, Tony serves as the liaison between the local NWS office and Emergency Management, county officials and members of the media, and is responsible for planning, coordinating and carrying out the public severe weather awareness program for a diverse region covering 49 counties in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia.

'In his over 40 years in public safety, Sandy brought a responder's perspective to his position at WV EMD. He was Chief of the Canaan Valley VFD for 18 years and continues to serve in a leadership role on both the business and operations side of the department. As an EMT he ran with Tucker County EMS for over 20 years. Sandy was hired as the Region 3 Liaison in December of 2011, and in addition to his liaison duties, he acts as the EMAC Coordinator for the state.'

Theresa started her career in the field of Library Science both in Virginia and then West Virginia. After losing her home in the 2001 flood an opportunity for volunteer recovery work opened in Fayette County. Theresa was hired in February 2002 and moved through the ranks of Hazard Mitigation Officer, Planner and eventually Director of Fayette County Emergency Management until taking the Liaison Position with WVEMD in 2015. Personally, Theresa is in love with the Pepsi man, Mike and loves Jesus. She teaches 6–10-year-olds Sunday School and leads the church Choir. Theresa also loves to crochet as her stress relief. She can be quite an extrovert at times but enjoys life to the fullest. 

Al Whitaker is the Lead Planner for the West Virginia Emergency Management Division, the former Director for Greenbrier County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (2008-2018). He has completed an Associate degree in Emergency Management from Bluefield State College and a BS in Organizational Leadership from Mountain State University.

During the WV SERC Conference in August 2013, Al was selected by the WV Emergency

Managers Council as the winner of the 2013 John Tagg Memorial Emergency Manager of the year.

In April of 2012 Al became the Greenbrier County 911 Center Director as well. Additionally, Al has become a WV Fusion Center Liaison Officer.

Al has experience in planning and operations for the Greenbrier Classic PGA and Concert Series; this is a seven-day event with attendance of over 400,000 people combined to include coordination with federal, state, and local emergency response agencies.

Al has experience in planning and operations for the State Fair of WV; this is a nine-day event with attendance of over 200,000 people to include coordination with federal, state and local emergency response agencies.

Previously, Al worked as the Administrator for Greenbrier County Emergency Ambulance Service, Operations Officer for Special Operation for the WV Office of Emergency Medical

Service. He also worked as the Emergency Planner for Raleigh County Emergency Services. Al is a West Virginia Registered Paramedic with 15 years of experience with EMS and 20 years of Fire Service.

Al grew up in Greenbrier County. Al lives in Beckley, WV and is married to Sandra Whitaker.

Jessica Griffith is a Criminal Analyst with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), primarily working human trafficking and child exploitation investigations.   

She is a member of the West Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force and the West Virginia Fusion Liaison Officer Human Trafficking Working Group.  Griffith formerly served as the Director for the West Virginia Intelligence/Fusion Center (now the West Virginia Fusion Center).  

In 2011, she was hired as the Homeland Security Manager for the Fusion Center and tasked with developing the state’s Fusion Liaison Officer (FLO) Program.  FLO programs provide a platform for law enforcement, first responders, state and local agencies, and public/private sector entities to strengthen information sharing and enhance multi-jurisdictional partnerships.  The West Virginia FLO program has been recognized both locally and nationally for their assistance in the aftermath efforts of various natural disasters that have occurred throughout the State of West Virginia.  In 2017, the WV FLO program was recognized for their training program by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Griffith has also worked with various states to either revamp their state FLO programs or to provide guidance in the development of such programs.  In 2016, Griffith was recognized for her outreach efforts and dedication to working with private sector partners by being awarded the Partnership Award from the West Virginia International Association of Special Investigation Units. In 2017 Prior to being hired by the West Virginia Intelligence/Fusion Center in 2011, Griffith worked for the West Virginia State Police as an Intelligence Analyst.  

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from West Liberty State College (now West Liberty University) and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Fairmont State University.  Griffith is also a graduate of the Fusion Center Leaders Program. 

Wade has served as the Deputy Director for the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System program since January 2009.  He has over 20 years of program management experience implementing government communications systems.  

Before joining FEMA, Wade served in the Defense Information Systems Agency for 9 years as a system engineer, program manager, and portfolio manager developing special senior leadership communications systems. 

Just prior to joining FEMA, Wade was the Deputy Director for Enterprise Architecture and Systems Engineering at the White House Communications Agency.  Wade has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.

Kevin Clark is an On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) with The United States Environmental Protection Agency. Having grown up and attended college in Missouri, Kevin is a newcomer to West Virginia. He has worked for the EPA for 7 years, previously with the oil facility program, inspecting storage tanks and conducting spill drills and exercises. Prior to the EPA, Kevin worked for a civil engineering firm and Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Kevin is a volunteer fire fighter and hazmat team member. In his 5 years as an OSC, Kevin coordinates environmental cleanups through the incident planning, hazmat response, and long term remediation stages. 

Mr. Brad McGee is retired from the US Army with over 26 years of service in the Regular Army and the West Virginia Army National Guard.  Brad has worked on several special projects for the state of West Virginia with the primary focus on critical infrastructure protection.  Brad has worked for Kanawha County Schools teaching High School JROTC where he taught, coached and mentored future leaders.  Brad started with Department of Homeland Security-Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in August of 2023 as the Protective Security Advisor (PSA) for the state of West Virginia. Brad has a Bachelor’s of Health Science from Campbell University and a Master’s of Science from Mountain State University.  Brad has two boys who are currently attending West Virginia University. 

Kyle Olson is the President and founder of The Olson Group, Ltd. An internationally known authority on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and a leading designer and facilitator of preparedness and response exercises. 

Mr. Olson launched OGL in 2005 to provide responsive, expert-driven support services to Federal, state, and local homeland security, public safety, and health agencies. Under his leadership, OGL has grown from a one-desk, one-room operation to one of the nation’s leaders in the provision of homeland security and emergency management services.

Mr. Olson has successfully worked with first responders and Cabinet officers, mid-level and senior officials at all levels of government and industry. His clients have included Federal agencies, state governments, cities and counties, international organizations, non-profits, and Fortune 500 corporations. Over the past thirty years, Mr. Olson has designed and executed hundreds of Tabletop, Functional and Full-Scale homeland security and emergency management exercises and facilitated significant conferences, workshops, and seminars. A problem-solver by nature, he is adept at defining novel solutions to complex problems and bringing “outside the box” thinking to bear in resolving intractable issues.

He has led several real-world investigations and after-action report efforts; examples include the 1995 Tokyo Nerve Gas attacks, 2012 New York State Response to Superstorm Sandy, 2015 Washington DC Metro Tunnel Fire, and 2016 District of Columbia Winter Storm Jonas Response.

Mr. Olson has testified before Congress, contributed to and edited books and articles on national security issues, lectured at universities such as Georgetown and Harvard, and such institutions as the Aspen Group, the National Defense University, and Air Force Special Operations School. He has frequently appeared as an expert on news programs in the United States and abroad and is regularly cited in the written press.

Education

West Virginia University - M.P.A (Master Public Administration) 

Montana State University - B.A. Political Science/History

Shawn Wolford has over 29 years combined emergency services experience, including more than 20 years serving on a county-wide level, up to and including Director, across four WV counties. Shawn has secured well over $4.5 million in grant funds and equipment donations from both public and private sources and seeks to expand on the opportunities available to help all emergency services organizations fund their vital work. He currently serves as Emergency Manager for Berkeley County, WV