Michael Brown

s the first undersecretary of emergency preparedness and response in the Homeland Security Department, Michael Brown will head an organization that moved pretty much intact to its new parent department. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told county officials in March, "will retain both its name and its mission, although it will have an expanded mission."

Brown, FEMA's deputy director, became the top candidate for the Homeland Security undersecretary post when FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh announced he would leave the administration in March 2003 to work on President Bush's reelection campaign. The new department's Emergency Preparedness and Response directorate consists largely of former FEMA employees, although it also includes offices from the Energy, Justice, and Health and Human Services departments.

Its disaster coordination responsibilities include implementation of the Federal Response Plan, which authorizes the response and recovery operations of 26 federal agencies and departments and the American Red Cross. The directorate oversees the National Flood Insurance Program, the U.S. Fire Administration, the Strategic National Stockpile of medical supplies and equipment, the National Disaster Medical System and the Nuclear Incident Response Team.

Brown joined FEMA early in 2001 as general counsel. Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Brown was nominated to be deputy director, but he wasn't confirmed until Aug. 1, 2002. In the aftermath of 9/11, he worked with the White House to coordinate policy for the federal domestic response to the attacks and to develop response plans for the future. Brown also has chaired the National Citizen Corps Council, part of the President's USA Freedom Corps volunteer initiative.

Before coming to Washington, Brown practiced law in Colorado and Oklahoma. While attending law school in Oklahoma City, he worked as staff director for the Oklahoma Legislature's Finance Committee, overseeing state fiscal issues.