Elizabeth Ridgeway has been named Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) for FEMA Region 8, bringing nearly two decades of experience supporting disaster response, recovery operations, workforce readiness, and interagency coordination.
Ridgeway has spent more than 18 years with FEMA, serving in a variety of leadership positions focused on disaster operations and recovery programs.
Before becoming Federal Coordinating Officer, Ridgeway served as Division Director for Readiness and Disaster Support within FEMA’s Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation. In that role, she supported readiness efforts and operational support activities.
She previously served as Deputy Cadre Coordinator and Branch Chief, as well as Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Cadre Manager.
Ridgeway also served nearly five years as Interagency Recovery Coordination Cadre Manager within FEMA’s Recovery Directorate. Earlier in her FEMA career, she supported recovery coordination initiatives, including work with the Recovery Support Function Leadership Group Secretariat and the National Disaster Housing Task Force. She began her FEMA service as a Correspondence Writer supporting the Recovery Directorate’s Front Office.
Before joining FEMA, Ridgeway served as a Program Analyst with the Smithsonian Institution. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from Claremont Graduate University.
