John Wheeler Named Emergency Management Manager

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 28, 2020

After a nationwide search, Washington County is pleased to announce that John Wheeler has been appointed to serve as the County’s new Emergency Management manager as of April 18, 2020. Wheeler has a long career in emergency management, including nearly 20 years as the Emergency Management coordinator for Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) in Vancouver, Washington. In December 2015, he was hired as Washington County’s Emergency Management supervisor and had been serving as interim manager since October of 2019. Since early March, Wheeler has been helping to lead the County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to provide multi-agency coordination, public information and community outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his new role, Wheeler will manage the Emergency Management Program for Washington County and lead efforts to prepare the County for a wide variety of emergencies including earthquakes, floods and disease outbreaks. The emergency management team accomplishes this work by coordinating the development of emergency plans and then by training and exercising staff members who are responsible for carrying out those plans. Wheeler and his team are responsible for mitigation and recovery planning, emergency operations and preparedness education related to all potential community-wide hazards.

As Emergency Management manager, Wheeler will also serve as the director of the Washington County Emergency Management Cooperative (EMC). The EMC is comprised of Washington County, the cities of Beaverton, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Hillsboro, North Plains, Sherwood, Tigard, and Tualatin, Clean Water Services and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. The EMC serves to enhance emergency preparedness and coordination within and across jurisdictional boundaries.

“We are very fortunate to have someone with John Wheeler’s depth of knowledge and vast experience to lead our emergency management team, especially during this COVID-19 crisis,” said Interim County Administrator Stephen Rhodes. “John is highly regarded, not only within our county organization, but throughout the region and clearly demonstrates his ability on a daily basis.”

Wheeler holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Oregon and in the short gaps when he’s not working, he enjoys taking care of his house, playing his guitars and trying to make the perfect cup of coffee.

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