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Deanne Criswell
Deanne Bennett Criswell[1] is an American emergency management officer who served as the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 2021 to 2025. Criswell is the first woman to lead FEMA.[2] She was previously the commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management Office.[3][4] EducationCriswell attended elementary school in Free Soil, Michigan and was graduated in 1984 from Catholic Central High School in Manistee, Michigan. She then earned a Bachelor of Science in technology education from Colorado State University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver, and a Master of Arts in homeland security from the Naval Postgraduate School.[5][6][7] CareerCriswell served as a member of the Colorado Air National Guard with the 140th Wing and was deployed to Kuwait directly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. She also worked as a firefighter for 21 years. Criswell managed the Office of Emergency Management for the city of Aurora, Colorado.[2] She later worked in the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Barack Obama administration before becoming the commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management department in 2019.[8] Her nomination to be the next FEMA administrator was submitted to the United States Senate on February 22, 2021.[1] She was confirmed unanimously on April 22, 2021, by voice vote, and was sworn in by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on April 26, 2021.[9][2] In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, Criswell has been accused of abusing her power to deliberately deny relief to disaster victims who were political supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.[10] The attorney general of Florida is suing Criswell and other FEMA employees, some of whom have claimed this discrimination is widespread in the agency. [11] References
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