On this edition of \"Disaster Relief for America\", hosts Tim Karney and Tom Moran interview former commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Manage...
ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW: On this edition of “Disaster Relief for America”, hosts Tim Karney and Tom Moran interview former commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Joseph F. Bruno.
GUEST BIOGRAPHY:Joseph F. Bruno(courtesy of Disaster Resilience for America) Mr. Bruno’s career is one marked by significant achievement from his early days as a parole officer for the State of New York to his most recent tenure as OEM Commissioner. Joining the New York City Law Department in 1971, he rose to manage three major divisions with the Office of the Corporation Counsel, and supervised more than 100 attorneys. He was also afforded the opportunity to argue an appeal in the United States Supreme Court—an honor to which few attorneys can attest. In 1983, Mr. Bruno became the city’s first Deputy Fire Commissioner, and 3 years later was selected by Mayor Ed Koch to head the Parking Violations Bureau. At the time, the bureau was then riddled with scandal, but under his leadership, it was able to return to solvency. By 1987, he became commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, and in 1991 Mr. Bruno served 10 years as a Civil Court Judge in the city. From 2002 to 2004, he served as Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, and in 2004 was selected as Commissioner of the OEM. Over the course of his 10 years of service as OEM Commissioner, Mr. Bruno proved instrumental in the creation and leadership of the largest and most highly regarded municipal emergency management agency in the country, and perhaps the world. Following his initial appointment by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2004, Mr. Bruno has been the recipient of extensive acclaim for the successful coordination of responses to a number of major emergencies and incidents. In 2005, for example, Mr. Bruno spearheaded the city’s effort to maintain order during the New York City Transit Strike. Under his leadership and guidance, the OEM has since responded to such emergencies as the Queens blackout in 2006, the steam pipe explosion in midtown Manhattan and the EF2 tornado that struck the city in 2007, the outbreak of the H1N1 virus in 2009, Hurricane Irene in 2011, and Superstorm Sandy in 2012 among many others. Mr. Bruno’s expertise in emergency management has garnered the attention of elected officials and leadership worldwide. Having hosted visitors from Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and the Middle East, the OEM has become a global model for success under his leadership. Continuing to lend his expertise in a variety of capacities, Mr. Bruno serves as Chair of the New York City Urban Area Security Initiative Working Group, member of the Board of Directors of the Helen Keller Services for the Blind Organization, and continues to lead the Big City Emergency Managers—a group he organized that is made up of directors or commissioners of emergency management agencies from 15 major U.S. cities. After 45 years of public service, former commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Joseph F. Bruno, joined RedLand Strategies in 2014 as Senior Strategic Advisor, Vice President for Emergency Management.
