Kelsey Scanlon Appointed as the 1st Director of the Monterey County Department of Emergency Management

 

SALINAS, CA – On Friday, April 21 the County of Monterey announced the appointment of Kelsey Scanlon as the first Director of

the County of Monterey’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM), previously the County’s Office of

Emergency Services. The newly created department was formally established by the Board of Supervisors in

December of 2022.

As director, Scanlon will be responsible for directing the administrative and operational activities. This includes

direction and leadership in developing, implementing, and updating emergency preparedness plans, operations, and

programs; the study and analysis of the vulnerability to disaster and response capabilities; developing and

implementing comprehensive, long-term disaster mitigation plans and programs; coordinating with other

departments, agencies and regional efforts and serving as the chief advisor to the County Administrative Office

during disaster response.

With her 10 years of emergency management, public safety, and public administration experience, Scanlon

has been integral in the evolution of the DEM through the changing and increasingly vital function of emergency

management in the County with a focus on the diverse communities that are served. She has cultivated a collaborative

and collective team environment that identifies problems and develops solutions.

“Scanlon has garnered the respect of allied local, state, and federal agencies and has extensive experience in

resource and service coordination to address local disasters and emergencies,” said Sonia M. De La Rosa, County

Administrative Officer. “She executes tasks with political and organizational agility while skillfully collaborating and

building strong relationships with a range of stakeholders,” said Nick Chiulos, Assistant County Administrative

Officer.

Major disasters that Scanlon has responded to include the 2017 Sonoma Complex/North Bay Fires (DR-4344-

CA) as EOC Coordinator in the Sonoma County Operational Area Emergency Operations Center; 2018 Camp Fire

(FEMA-5278-CA) as Public Information/Alert and Warning Specialist in the Town of Paradise Emergency Operations

Center; 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic (FEMA-4482-DR) as Deputy Operations Section Chief/Public Information/Elected

Officials Liaison in the Monterey County Operational Area Emergency Operations Center; 2020 Carmel, Dolan, And

River Fires (FEMA-4558-DR) as Operations Section Chief / EOC Liaison in the Monterey County Operational Area

Emergency Operations Center; and, 2022-2023 Winter Storms (DR-4683-CA) as EOC Coordinator in the Monterey

County Operational Area Emergency Operations Center.

“I joined the County Family and Monterey County Community five years ago and have had the privilege of serving

the community and can attest to the resilience of our residents and businesses. I am extremely honored to have

the opportunity to continue to serve the County in this new capacity. I am humbled to be appointed as the first

Director of the new Department of Emergency Management and thank the community, the DEM team, Board of

Supervisors, and County Administrative Officer for this privilege,” said Scanlon.

Scanlon most recently served as an Emergency Services Planner in DEM. She graduated from Emerson College

with a bachelor’s degree in Political Communication and the George Washington University with a Master of

Science Degree in Engineering Management.

Scanlon will assume her duties as department head on April 22, 2023.