August 03, 2023

Episode 16 - Bill Johnson Discusses His Career In Emergency Management Leadership and The Chaos and Complexities of an Aviation Disaster in the Florida Everglades

53 minutes

Introduction

Bill Johnson is a nationally recognized leader in healthcare, public safety, and emergency management. He is the former Director of the Palm Beach County Division of Emergency Management. Throughout his nearly 11-year tenure, he guided the County in its response to several major disaster incidents, including COVID-19 (2020), Tropical Storm Isaac (2012), Hurricane Matthew (2016), Hurricane Irma (2017), and Hurricane Dorian (2019). He led the Division to become one of few local programs in the nation to become an accredited emergency management program. Prior to Palm Beach County, Bill worked as the Assistant Director for the Broward County and Miami-Dade County emergency management departments.

Bill has been deployed to numerous major disasters including to New York City’s Emergency Operations Center to assist with incident command after the 9/11 “Attacks on America” (2001), to Lee County after Hurricane Charley (2004), to Monroe County after Hurricane Irma (2017), to Calhoun County after Hurricane Michael (2018), and to the FEMA Region IV RRCC in Atlanta after Hurricane Ian (2022). He is a registered nurse, Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM), and was a certified paramedic for 28 years.

Key positions:

• Public Health Advisor (IMT), U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (DHHS)

• Director, Palm Beach County (FL) Division of Emergency Management

• Assistant Director, Broward County (FL) Emergency Management Division

• Director – Emergency Management, URS Corporation

• Assistant Director, Miami-Dade County (FL) Office of Emergency Management

• Assistant Director, Miami-Dade County (FL) Office of Trauma Services

Contact information:

Twitter: @BillJohnsonRN

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/billjohnsonrn

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