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Two-time Wilder School Alumnus Appointed to Head VDEM

Gov. Ralph Northam has appointed Curtis Brown, a two-time alumnus of the VCU Wilder School, to lead the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
Gov. Ralph Northam has appointed Curtis Brown, a two-time alumnus of the VCU Wilder School, to lead the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

June 10, 2020

Gov. Ralph Northam has appointed Curtis Brown, a two-time alumnus of the VCU Wilder School, to lead the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Brown, who earned his certificate and master’s degree in homeland security and emergency preparedness at the VCU Wilder School, has deep ties within the School community—both as an adjunct instructor and alumnus of the Virginia Executive Institute and the Commonwealth Management Institute.

He will become the first African American to lead the state’s emergency management agency, a role that has become critical amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown will replace Jeff Stern, who left the agency to take a job at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Brown previously served as a deputy secretary of public safety and homeland security under Secretary Brian Moran. Prior to that, he served as a chief deputy state coordinator at VDEM.

View the full press release from the Office of the Governor here.