McChrystal Group has welcomed Peter T. Gaynor to its Senior Advisory team.
Gaynor is an accomplished executive with over 14 years of leadership in emergency management and homeland security at every level of government. He has led a wide variety of challenging disasters at the local, state, and federal levels. Most recently he served as the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, and Deputy FEMA Administrator.
During his time at FEMA, Gaynor led the agency’s response to over 300 presidentially declared emergencies and major disasters. During the historic year of 2020, he oversaw FEMA’s first ever operational response to a nationwide pandemic while simultaneously responding to a record number of historic natural disasters. As a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Gaynor directed FEMA’s operational coordination for the whole-of-government response to COVID-19. Prior to his career in emergency management he served twenty-six years in the United States Marine Corps as both an enlisted Marine and commissioned officer.
Gaynor was recently awarded the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal and the United States Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Medal for his service at FEMA.
He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Rhode Island College and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in Newport, RI. He is also a graduate of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Executive Leaders Program.
Read Peter Gaynor’s biography at McChrystal Group
