Nancy Dragani has joined the IEM team full-time and assumes the role of Mid-West Region Account Executive, according to a news release earlier this month. A respected voice in the field, Dragani brings decades of leadership experience from FEMA and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Her service as the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 8 gives her unique insight into the complexities and needs of state, local, and tribal emergency managers and the tools required to create, implement, and manage robust emergency response and recovery systems.
Appointed by multiple governors, Dragani led Ohio through some of its most challenging disasters as Executive Director from 2005 to 2014, successfully directing state-led recovery programs. In addition to her roles in state and federal government, she served on FEMA’s National Advisory Council and the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism Advisory Board. She also held the position of President of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) from 2008 to 2009 and was the 2014 recipient of NEMA’s Lacy E. Suiter Distinguished Service Award.
In 2004, Dragani retired from the Ohio National Guard with 22 years of combined U.S. Army, Army National Guard, and Air National Guard service. Ms. Dragani has a Master of Arts degree 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.