10 April: Chicago Office of Emergency Management and
Communications (OEMC)
Description:
Learn
about the role, mission and function of the Chicago OEMC. The OEMC is committed to
closely partnering with local, regional, state, and federal partners to achieve
seamless integration and complementary missions. The OEMC Executive Director
will report on how its traditional responsibilities at the local level, its
support of relevant Cook County and State of Illinois efforts has resulted in
more safety and security for both City residents and City property. He will further elaborate on OEMC's vision of
"Integrated Operations, Safe and Secure Citizens."
Speaker
Biography: Gary W. Schenkel,
OEMC Executive Director
Gary W. Schenkel was appointed the [update]Executive Director of
the city Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) in Chicago, Illinois in June 2011. Prior to this position Schenkel was
the director of the Federal
Protective Service(FPS), one of the six divisions of
the National
Protection and Programs Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security from March 2007 until July 2010. Prior to joining the Federal Protective
Service, Schenkel served as Assistant Federal Security
Director for the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) at Chicago Midway Airport, a position he held from February 2004 until his selection as Director for
FPS in April 2007. Before joining TSA,
Schenkel served from 2000-2004 as the Assistant Deputy Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), where he was one of only two civilians in the department's history
to be given operational command over uniformed officers in the department. A retired United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, Schenkel served in the enlisted ranks for 8 of his nearly 30 years of
service. As an infantryman and infantry officer, he gained experience in a wide
range of arenas, including organizational transformation efforts, security
planning for public facilities, logistical planning and execution and business
administration.