Alan Harris, Chief Administrator, Seminole County Office of Emergency Management

Alan Harris Bio:

Alan Harris has worked in emergency services for over 25 years. He began his career with the Alachua County Fire Rescue Department while completing his degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

In 2002, Alan served as a member of the public affairs team for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. That same year he was deployed to the Mallory Swamp Fire, the largest wildfire in Florida history.

Alan currently serves as the Chief Administrator for the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management. His first night on the job in emergency management was August 13, 2004; the day Hurricane Charley hit the State of Florida. He has managed events to include Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, and was deployed to Pensacola to assist the Escambia County EOC after Hurricane Ivan, Tropical Storm Fay 2008, Suwannee River Flood 2009, Operation Haiti Relief 2010 (the largest repatriation in the United State history), Trayvon Martin civil unrest events of 2012, State of Florida vs George Zimmerman nationally recognized trial, Pulse Nightclub Mass Casualty Incident in 2016, Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Hurricane Irma in 2017, Hurricane Maria Evacuation Effort in 2017, Hurricane Michael in 2018, COVID-19 pandemic, and Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Alan is a co-chair on the Regional Domestic Security Task Force, an Executive Group Member for the Urban Area Security Initiative, Emergency Management Chair for the State Executive Group on Homeland Security, and Board of Directors for the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition. In 2012, Alan was selected as Intelligence Liaison of the Year for the disruption three domestic security events. In 2013, Alan was recognized as the Emergency Manager of the Year for the State of Florida.

He graduated from Advanced and Executive Academy studies at the Emergency Management Institute in Washington DC and teaches numerous Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security courses. Alan has achieved the Professional Emergency Manager® certification by the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association and was awarded the Certified Emergency Manager® designation by the International Association of Emergency Managers.