Brian Kamoie is currently the Acting Associate Administrator (and permanent Deputy Associate Administrator) for Mission Support at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In that role, he leads an organization of approximately 700 full-time and many more temporary personnel who provide five lines of business services to support FEMA's critical mission: information technology (including cybersecurity), human capital, procurement, security (physical and personnel), and administrative services (including facilities, occupational health & safety, privacy, records management, and environmental programs).
From 2013-2017, Mr. Kamoie served as the FEMA Assistant Administrator for Grant Programs. In that capacity, he oversaw over $17 billion in grant programs to build, sustain, and improve our national capability to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate terrorism and other disasters and emergencies. He provided oversight of grant investments across a broad range of projects, including capabilities to counter weapons of mass destruction, improve cybersecurity, and address emerging threats from active shooters and complex, coordinated terrorist attacks. From Fiscal Years 2013-2016, Mr. Kamoie issued over 12,000 new awards totaling over $16 billion after a review of over 40,000 applications.
Mr. Kamoie worked regularly with Members of Congress and Congressional staff on authorization and appropriations matters, grant recipients in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. Territories, the nation’s 30+ largest urban areas, and national stakeholder organizations. In doing so, he established a strong vision and case for support for the Administration’s approach to enhancing the nation’s security and resilience with strong fiscal stewardship. He communicated that vision and case for support regularly with key stakeholders, whether in one-on-one and small group meetings or in public remarks at large national conferences. Mr. Kamoie testified before the United States House of Representatives on homeland security grants following the Orlando nightclub shooting (July 2016), and before the United States Senate on military equipment and grants provided to law enforcement (September 2014) and port security (June 2014). He successfully advocated for and defended the budget for the grant programs, which averaged approximately $2.3 billion a year during his tenure.
Mr. Kamoie strengthened fiscal discipline and accountability in the grants portfolio, including reducing the levels of unspent balances in programs from a high of $8.7 billion to $1.2 billion (an 86% drop), closing over 19,600 grant awards that were eligible to be closed out (which removed $459 million in liabilities from FEMA’s balance sheet), and reducing improper payment levels in the grant programs to historic lows (under 1%) within statutory thresholds.
Mr. Kamoie also transformed the Grants Program Directorate, successfully advocated for and optimized its $50.3 million annual operating budget, and led the 175+ staff to record levels of measurable performance across the grants management lifecycle. During his tenure, the organization’s scores in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey hit record highs across many domains, including senior leadership generating high levels of commitment and motivation, acting with honesty and integrity, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Kamoie served as Senior Director for Preparedness Policy on the White House National Security Council (NSC) staff from 2009 to 2013. In that role, he led a team of professionals in the development of national policy related to all-hazards preparedness, individual and community resilience, public health and medical preparedness, critical infrastructure protection and resilience, national security/emergency preparedness communications, and preparedness grants. While at the NSC, Mr. Kamoie led the development and implementation of key initiatives, including the Administration’s strategic approach to enhancing national resilience, as reflected in the President’s National Security Strategy; Presidential Policy Directive 8 on National Preparedness, including the first-ever National Preparedness Goal; reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act; policies on medical countermeasure development and distribution (e.g., Executive Order (EO) 13527: Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack); biosafety & security (e.g., EO 13486: Strengthening Laboratory Biosecurity); chemical defense; the Global Health Security Agenda; and dual use scientific research.
Mr. Kamoie also played key roles in the response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic; Haiti earthquake; Deepwater Horizon oil spill; and Fukushima nuclear emergency. He was recognized by the President’s National Security Advisor for outstanding service as part of the H1N1 pandemic influenza team and Fukushima nuclear emergency team. He briefed national media routinely on Administration homeland security policies and priorities and was profiled on the C-SPAN/Brian Lamb Q&A Program in May 2012.
Before joining the National Security Council staff, Mr. Kamoie served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and Director of the Office of Policy, Strategic Planning & Communications at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), an office he established. While at HHS, he played key leadership roles in the development of key national policies, including the National Response Plan and National Incident Management System, the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, and Homeland Security Presidential Directives. He also supported the development and acquisition of vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, and diagnostic tools for a wide range of public health and medical emergencies.
Prior to his work at HHS, Mr. Kamoie was Associate Professor of Health Policy and Health Services Management and Leadership at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. Mr. Kamoie received his bachelor’s degree in policy studies and political science from Dickinson College, where he served on the Board of Trustees (2005-2009), and a law degree and master’s degrees in public health and political science from The George Washington University, where he was managing editor of The George Washington Law Review.