Regional Administrators lead FEMA’s 10 Regional offices and coordinate directly with the FEMA Administrator to support state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) communities in their geographic area of operations delivering frontline services across the spectrum of preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, and continuity programs. The Regional Administrators play a critical role in delivering timely, efficient, effective, and accessible federal assistance.
Lori Ehrlich, FEMA Regional Administrator, Region 1
During Lori Ehrlich’s 14-year tenure as a Massachusetts State Representative, she served in leadership roles as Chair of the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government and the Joint Committee on Export Development. She has filed and passed numerous bills into law on topics ranging from clean energy, climate change, and local journalism, to animal protection and reforming restrictive employment contracts. Ehrlich was appointed to serve on a U.S. Department of Energy Commission on Energy Preparedness.
Prior to her elected service, Ehrlich founded two environmental non-profit organizations that brokered both the closure of a 1950s-era coal-burning power plant and the remediation of a contaminated drinking water supply for 80,000 local residents. Ehrlich earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Lehigh University and is the only CPA currently serving in the legislature.
Region 1 serves Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
David Warrington, FEMA Regional Administrator, Region 2
David Warrington has almost 20 years of experience in the public sector. Most recently he was the Senior Manager of Strategic Preparedness for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where he was responsible for developing an all-hazards risk management program to assess complex threats and lead the evaluation of mitigation strategies. Since 2014, he has led the advancement of next generation technology for the Agency’s chemical, biological, and radiological defense efforts. In 2019, he oversaw the review and comprehensive updates to all the Port Authority’s emergency operations plans.
Throughout his career Warrington has served in a leadership capacity for all command positions within the Port Authority’s incident command structure including responses to Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, U.S. Airways flight 1549 crash into the Hudson River, and numerous named winter storms. Additionally, he had a lead role in coordinating Agency resources to support Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey, and the 2015 Papal visit to New York City, both designated National Special Security Events. Warrington received his Bachelor of Arts degree from York College of Pennsylvania with a focus in criminal justice. He currently resides in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Region 2 serves New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Nancy Dragani, FEMA Regional Administrator, Region 8
Nancy Dragani has more than 26 years of experience in the emergency management field at state and federal levels. She began her career with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency in 1994; in 2005 she was appointed the executive director, a role she filled until 2014. Dragani was appointed as the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 8 Deputy Regional Administrator in January 2016. Her responsibilities included oversight of regional disaster response, recovery, mitigation, and preparedness activities. Dragani also served on FEMA’s National Advisory Council and the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism Advisory Board. She held the position of President of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) from 2008-2009 and was the 2014 recipient of NEMA’s Lacy E. Suiter Distinguished Service Award, an annual award to an individual for outstanding contributions to emergency management. Dragani has a Master of Arts from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Dominican College where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Region 8 serves Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
