Jenny Presswalla has been officially sworn in as the new Director of Mission Support at FEMA Region 8, a role she announced in a LinkedIn post expressing her excitement for the opportunity to continue serving communities and civil servants.
Presswalla brings a strong public service track record to her new position, with nearly two decades of experience in homeland security, public safety, and organizational leadership. Most recently, she served as Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3), where she oversaw a $25 million annual budget—including $20 million in grants—and led teams focused on violence prevention, digital literacy, strategic engagement, and field operations.
In her time at CP3, Presswalla also served as Acting Director, leading strategic changes to align the center’s priorities with measurable outcomes. She played a key role in briefing senior DHS leadership and was recognized with multiple awards for her ability to forge strong partnerships across government, civil society, and the private sector.
Her earlier federal roles include key leadership positions at the National Counterterrorism Center, where she led nationwide community engagement programs and international public safety planning, and at DHS’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, where she helped develop public policy in collaboration with diverse community groups.
A seasoned strategist with experience managing cross-functional teams and driving cultural change, Presswalla has focused her career on improving trust between government agencies and the communities they serve. At FEMA Region 8—headquartered in Denver and covering six states—she will oversee mission support functions critical to ensuring the agency’s readiness to respond to emergencies and support disaster recovery.
Presswalla holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from American University and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Florida. She was also awarded the David Boren Fellowship for her work abroad.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)