MAYOR NAMES TWO TOP PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS
Names new directors of 911 Call Center and Office of Emergency Management
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (September 10, 2008) -Mayor Karl Dean today announced he has appointed two highly qualified public safety officials to lead the Emergency Communications Center and the Office of Emergency Management.
Duane Phillips, director of ECC. Phillips, a 36-year veteran and lieutenant of the Metro Police Department, has been serving as interim director of the communications center since May, when he was appointed to the position by Dean.
Prior to the consolidation of emergency communications in Metro, Phillips supervised Metro police communications for nearly three years, from January 2000 through August 2002.
As a Metro police lieutenant, Phillips most recently oversaw investigative operations for the North Precinct. He has also served as a Murder Squad detective, a Homicide Unit supervisor, a Patrol Division supervisor, and the head of the police department’s Records Division.
“Having served as a public safety official in our city for more than three decades, Lieutenant Phillips knows the Nashville community and the critical role 9-1-1 plays as the public’s direct link to emergency responders. He has done an outstanding job as interim director the last three months and has shown he is clearly the best person to serve in this role going forward.”
Laura Hokenstad, director of OEM. Hokenstad is currently senior associate vice president at the Olson Group, an emergency management contracting firm based in Alexandria, Va., where she has worked with the Washington D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and the State of Utah Department of Public Safety, among other agencies.
Hokenstad began her career in emergency management in 1995 at Washington University at St. Louis, working on a study funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that examined state and regional planning efforts related to the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program.
For media inquiries contact:
Bonna Johnson
615-862-6461
bonna.johnson@nashville.gov