Dr. Ahsha Tribble is the Deputy Regional Administrator for the FEMA Region 9 Office. Her responsibilities include oversight for the operational aspects of regional disaster response and recovery, mitigation and preparedness activities in the FEMA Region 9 area of responsibility which includes California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii as well as the territories of American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Before joining FEMA Region 9, Dr. Tribble served as the Senior Advisor to Department of Energy Secretary Moniz and was focused on identifying, strengthening, and integrating DOE capabilities for emergency preparedness and response, security, and resilience, as it related to DOE facilities and assets across the nation’s energy infrastructure. She also served on the Secretary’s Cybersecurity Steering Committee.
Prior to her tenure at DOE, Dr. Tribble served more than three years on the White House National Security Council Staff, including interim service as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor; Senior Director for Response; and Director of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience. She led or supported White House response coordination and operational policy for major disasters including Hurricanes Sandy and Irene; the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster; major flooding on the Mississippi River and in Colorado; numerous tornados; and the deadly West Texas chemical plant explosion. She has traveled with President Obama and Vice President Biden to disaster areas, to provide technical support on Federal response activities. Dr. Tribble also led the development and release of the new Presidential policies for Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, National Special Security Events, and Chemical Facilities Safety and Security.
Prior to joining NSC, Dr. Tribble spent ten years in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As Senior Policy Advisor for Weather and Climate, she oversaw scientific, operational and policy matters related to domestic and international climate services and the provision of weather services. She led the national coordination and planning for hurricane forecast operations for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and conducted routine White House briefings on weather emergencies. Dr. Tribble also served as the first Executive Officer at the NOAA National Hurricane Center in Miami, as well as Technical Chief of Staff and Senior Science Advisor to the Deputy NOAA Administrator. She represented the U.S. on panels at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties and routinely engaged Administration officials on climate science and policy issues.
She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Math from Florida A&M University, a Master of Science Degree in Meteorology from Florida State University, and a Doctorate Degree in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.