Katherine Fox is the Director of FEMA’s National Preparedness Assessment Division, focusing on a range of analytic efforts to evaluate the Nation’s preparedness posture. In this position, Katherine’s responsibilities include publishing the annual National Preparedness Report; evaluating state preparedness capabilities through the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and State Preparedness Reports (SPR); supporting FEMA’s Lessons Learned and Continuous Improvement Program through Evaluation and Decision Support; and measuring performance of FEMA’s preparedness programs.
From 2014 to July 2016, Katherine served as the Senior Advisor for FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate, including a year as the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for National Preparedness, coordinating and streamlining efforts to build national preparedness capabilities through risk analysis, training, exercises, and outreach. Katherine played a critical role in identifying and resourcing NPD’s strategic priorities.
Prior to joining NPD, Katherine served in FEMA’s Office of Policy and Program Analysis as the Deputy Associate Administrator for management and performance improvement efforts across FEMA. She was also the agency’s Performance Improvement Officer, with responsibility for providing analysis, coordination, and decision support on a wide range of FEMA policies, strategy, plans, programs, and key initiatives. Her portfolio included executive oversight of the FEMAStat program, efforts to mature the Agency’s resource analysis procedures, re-vamping FEMA’s audit coordination functions and processes, and helping to shepherd the development of the 2014-2018 FEMA Strategic Plan.
Ms. Fox previously served in several positions in FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, including the Individual Assistance Program Management Branch Chief, with responsibility for managing FEMA’s portfolio of individual assistance programs, as the Senior Policy Advisor for the Recovery Directorate, and temporarily served as the Acting Deputy for Recovery with oversight of FEMA’s housing programs following Hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Gustav. Prior to joining FEMA in 2008, Ms. Fox worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget as the FEMA resource analyst and played a critical role coordinating inter-agency resources in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Ms. Fox holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Oglethorpe University. She lives in Takoma Park, MD, with her husband and son.