Contingency Planning & Management

Inductees - Public Servant Category

Public Servant Category
individuals from the public sector who have made significant contributions to emergency response and crisis management, enabling businesses and their workers to resume operations after disasters or major disruptions

2006: Herve Riou
2005: Ellis M. Stanley Sr.
2004: Peter R. Picarillo
2003: Ines Pearce
2002: Rudolph Giuliani
2000: James Lee Witt

Ellis M. Stanley Sr., CEM, is general manager of the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Emergency Preparedness. He began his career with the city in 1997. Prior to that appointment, he was director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency and director of emergency management in Durham County, N.C., and Brunswick County, N.C. In his varied career, Stanley has served as a County Fire Marshal, Fire and Rescue Commissioner and County Safety Officer. He is currently on the board of the DRI International and is a past president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, the American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, the National Defense Transportation Association, the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators and vice-chair of the Association of Contingency Planners.

Peter R. Picarillo, CBCP, is a retired New York Police Department Sergeant and former director of Public-Private Initiatives for the New York City Office of Emergency Management. He is currently the managing director for BNET and manages Picarillo Consulting, a strategic management consulting practice.

Ines Pearce was appointed Seattle Project Impact Program Manager for the Seattle Emergency Management team in December 1998. In that role, she manages the four Project Impact mitigation programs that provide resources for safer schools, homes and businesses. Ms. Pearce also leads the 19 Puget Sound area cities/counties on the Regional Home Retrofit program to strengthen houses vulnerable to earthquake damage. Through her leadership and dedication, Ms. Pearce has managed a highly innovative and successful program that created within an individual community a goal we all strive for — effective public-private partnerships.

In the days following September 11, former mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani raised the bar for all leaders in times of crisis, with his calm demeanor, unifying words, and effective decision making in the face of the greatest disaster any American city has ever faced.

His ability to coordinate and lead the response from all public services, such as fire, police, and rescue, stabilized the situation and mitigated a disaster that could have been much worse were it not for his efforts.

James Lee Witt was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the US Senate as Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in April 1993. He was the first agency head who came to the position with experience in emergency management, having previously served as the Director of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services for four years.

As FEMA's Director, James Lee coordinates federal disaster relief on behalf of President Clinton, including the response and recovery activities of 28 federal agencies and departments, the American Red Cross, and other voluntary agencies. He also oversees the National Flood Insurance Program, the US Fire Administration, and other proactive mitigation activities that reduce loss of life and property from all types of hazards. In 1997, James Lee started Project Impact, a national initiative to help build disaster resistant communities through education, mitigation, and public and private partnerships.

Since taking office, James Lee has led FEMA through more than 176 Presidentially declared disasters in some 3,655 counties in all 50 states and territories, including the most costly flood disaster in the nation's history, the most costly earthquake, and a dozen damaging hurricanes. He reorganized FEMA into a proactive, customer-focused agency recognized as a model for successful government.

A native of Arkansas, Mr. Witt has been nationally recognized for his work in emergency management, environmental health, earthquake mitigation, and veterans affairs. In February 1996, President Clinton elevated Mr. Witt to cabinet status -- a first for a FEMA Director.