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    Director of Emergency Management

    Randy Padfield

    “When Pennsylvanians need us most, PEMA and the Shapiro Administration will be there to support them – and we will vigorously plan and prepare to ensure we are ready for future emergencies and disasters.”

    Randy Padfield

    Randy Padfield has more than 35 years of progressive leadership experience in public safety spanning various roles in the disciplines of fire/rescue services, special operations, Emergency Medical Services, and emergency management. He previously served as the deputy director for Response Operations at PEMA, before being appointed to director of the agency in 2019. 

    Prior to his tenure at PEMA, he was director of the Senator John J. Shumaker Public Safety Training Center at Harrisburg Area Community College, where he oversaw the development and delivery of training programs for fire, EMS, law enforcement and industry personnel. 

    He previously worked as a Critical Care Flight Paramedic, has served on a regional Incident Management Team and the state’s All-Hazards Incident Management Team, and is a contract instructor for the Emergency Management Institute and the National Fire Academy at the National Emergency Training Center, where he teaches courses in special operations management and incident command/management. 

    Padfield is an original member of Pennsylvania Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team, where he serves as a Task Force Leader and member of the National Urban Search and Rescue Incident Support Team that responds to large, complex disasters. 

    He has responded to multiple local, regional, state, and national disasters and emergencies in various capacities throughout his career, including the scene of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, hurricanes and floods, and most recently the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, in 2021, and Hurricane Ian in 2022.