Kathleen Fox serves as the Assistant Administrator, National Preparedness Directorate (NPD), in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Directorate has six business units with over 400 personnel that are charged with providing guidance, programs, activities and services to prepare the Nation to prevent, protect from, respond to and recover from all hazards. The Directorate is responsible for leading implementation of Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness.
Ms. Fox previously served as the Director of FEMA’s National Preparedness Assessment Division. She was responsible for measuring how prepared we are as a nation, including evaluating the effectiveness of preparedness grants. Ms. Fox also oversaw FEMA’s lessons learned and corrective action programs, working to ensure that we incorporate these lessons into plans, policies, and directives.
Prior to accepting this position in March 2011, Ms. Fox served as the Executive Director for the congressionally mandated Local, State, Tribal, and Federal Preparedness Task Force at FEMA. In that role, she was responsible for establishing the 35-member Task Force and drafting the report on behalf of the Task Force to determine the most appropriate way to collectively assess and measure our capabilities and capability gaps at a national level, and streamline associated efforts, including policies, guidance, and grants. The report: Perspective on Preparedness: Taking Stock Since 9/11 was published in October 2010.
From 2007-2009, Ms. Fox served as the Deputy Director in the District of Columbia’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. In this position, she oversaw homeland security strategy and planning, including the grant process; special event and emergency planning and operations, such as the 2009 presidential inauguration; and training and exercise activities.
Before joining the District government, Ms. Fox spent ten years at DFI, a consulting firm delivering information services, knowledge management, and solutions to senior decision-makers in the US government. At DFI, Ms. Fox developed, managed, and led all of the firm’s business related to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) preparedness exercises and program evaluation.
Ms. Fox has also worked as a Staff Assistant in a U.S. Senator’s office and an Analyst at the Chicago Police Department. She earned her master’s degree in international affairs from American University and her bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.