William Ray to be new Director of Emergency Management for North Carolina

North Carolina's Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks appointed William Ray as the state's new Director of Emergency Management. Ray will lead emergency efforts to ensure the state’s preparedness and coordinating needed staff and resources to support local responses to, and recovery from, all hazards and threats. As director, he also will serve as the state’s deputy homeland security advisor.

Ray currently serves as the chief of staff at North Carolina Emergency Management. In this leadership role, he is the principal deputy coordinating and supervising the work of NCEM and the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. This includes management of complex programs, senior government interagency coordination, and development and implementation of strategic priorities, initiatives and plans.

Ray’s prior role at NCEM was as assistant director/section chief for the Plans and Homeland Security section. Before his work at NCEM, Ray served in several emergency response roles at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, in local government and in the private sector.

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