Full Name
Alex Amparo
Job Title
Director, Puerto Rico Critical Infrastructure
Company (Please input the full name of your organization)
IEM
Speaking At
Speaker Bio
Alex Amparo currently serves as the Director of Puerto Rico Critical Infrastructure for Innovative Emergency Management (IEM). He previously served as the Assistant Administrator of FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate (NPD). NPD has seven business units charged with providing guidance, programs, activities and services, as well as delivering education, training and exercises, to instill equity, promote climate resilience, and promote and sustain a ready FEMA and prepared Nation. Mr. Amparo recently received a 2021 Presidential Rank Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the federal career civil service. His distinguished career in emergency management spans more than two decades at the State and Federal levels. Mr. Amparo entered the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2011.
From April through August 2022, Mr. Amparo led an interagency team in support of field operations as the Senior Coordinating Official for the Southwest Border Coordination Center. In coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Coast Guard, Border Patrol and others, he executed the Department of Homeland Security’s implementation of a whole-of-government effort to safely and humanely manage our Nation’s borders.
From January 20, 2021, to January 1, 2022, Mr. Amparo served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator for Resilience. In this role, Mr. Amparo led an organization of more than 1,400 employees across four major and three minor components that include the Federal Insurance & Mitigation Administration, National Preparedness Directorate, Grant Programs Directorate, National Continuity Programs, Office of Counterterrorism and Security Preparedness, Office of Resilience Integration and Coordination, and Resilience Enterprise Operations.
From September 2019 through September 2020, Mr. Amparo served on a detail as the Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator for response and recovery operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, following hurricanes Irma and Maria. He was also the Federal Coordinating Officer for the earthquakes that affected the southern part of Puerto Rico in 2020.
Mr. Amparo’s career includes serving in roles such as the Acting Director of FEMA’s Office of External Affairs (OEA), Assistant Administrator of the Recovery Directorate, and Senior Advisor to the Office of Response and Recovery, among many others. At the State level, Mr. Amparo was the Director of Emergency Management at the Florida Commission on Community Service and served as a senior staff member in the office of the late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles. Throughout his career in emergency management, Mr. Amparo has gained subject matter expertise in the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant programs.
Under his leadership, programs disbursed over $90 billion in federal disaster aid across more than 535 major disasters and emergencies including FEMA Individual Assistance to over 30 million disaster survivors. Additionally, Mr. Amparo spearheaded a pilot program that allows FEMA to provide fixed-capped grants based on estimates for large infrastructure repair projects damaged as a result of disasters. In 2008, Mr. Amparo received the Governor’s Award for exceptional leadership in the emergency management field, the highest honor awarded by the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference. Mr. Amparo holds a Bachelor of Science in Multinational Business from Florida State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from California State University.
From April through August 2022, Mr. Amparo led an interagency team in support of field operations as the Senior Coordinating Official for the Southwest Border Coordination Center. In coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Coast Guard, Border Patrol and others, he executed the Department of Homeland Security’s implementation of a whole-of-government effort to safely and humanely manage our Nation’s borders.
From January 20, 2021, to January 1, 2022, Mr. Amparo served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator for Resilience. In this role, Mr. Amparo led an organization of more than 1,400 employees across four major and three minor components that include the Federal Insurance & Mitigation Administration, National Preparedness Directorate, Grant Programs Directorate, National Continuity Programs, Office of Counterterrorism and Security Preparedness, Office of Resilience Integration and Coordination, and Resilience Enterprise Operations.
From September 2019 through September 2020, Mr. Amparo served on a detail as the Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator for response and recovery operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, following hurricanes Irma and Maria. He was also the Federal Coordinating Officer for the earthquakes that affected the southern part of Puerto Rico in 2020.
Mr. Amparo’s career includes serving in roles such as the Acting Director of FEMA’s Office of External Affairs (OEA), Assistant Administrator of the Recovery Directorate, and Senior Advisor to the Office of Response and Recovery, among many others. At the State level, Mr. Amparo was the Director of Emergency Management at the Florida Commission on Community Service and served as a senior staff member in the office of the late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles. Throughout his career in emergency management, Mr. Amparo has gained subject matter expertise in the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant programs.
Under his leadership, programs disbursed over $90 billion in federal disaster aid across more than 535 major disasters and emergencies including FEMA Individual Assistance to over 30 million disaster survivors. Additionally, Mr. Amparo spearheaded a pilot program that allows FEMA to provide fixed-capped grants based on estimates for large infrastructure repair projects damaged as a result of disasters. In 2008, Mr. Amparo received the Governor’s Award for exceptional leadership in the emergency management field, the highest honor awarded by the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference. Mr. Amparo holds a Bachelor of Science in Multinational Business from Florida State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from California State University.
