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Mr. Burris is the Chief Operating Officer of James Lee Witt Associates and the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). His responsibilities at FEMA included the day to day operations of the agency's eight thousand full time and contract employees and a seven billion dollar budget as well as serving as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for emergency response, recovery, and preparedness. Prior to assuming the duties of COO, Mr. Burris served as the Regional Director of FEMA's Region IV where his responsibilities included disaster response and recovery oversight and preparedness for the Southeastern United States.
Previous to this Mr. Burris served as the Chief Operating Office of the United States Fire Administration and Acting U.S. Fire Administrator and was instrumental in establishment of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. This grant program currently distributes over one billion dollars annually to local fire departments for the purpose of preparing the nation's fire service to respond to events of all types.
Operationally, Mr. Burris has served in a senior level capacity in a multitude of national incidents including the World Trade Towers 9/11, the Columbia Shuttle recover mission, the hurricanes of 2004, and Hurricane Katrina.
In 2006, Mr. Burris received the Department of Homeland Security's Silver Medal for service to America from Secretary Chertoff and was awarded the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive by President Bush and recognized as s leading Senior Executive in the government.
Before entering federal service, Mr. Burris retired from the City of Marietta Fire Department after twenty-three years of service and attaining the position of Chief of the Department. During his tenure as Fire Chief, he held numerous national fire service leadership positions including the President of the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs and Treasure of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and is a Fellow in the Institution of Fire Engineers.
Mr. Burris has a Bachelor of Science in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a MPA from Kennesaw State University from which he was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award in 1999. | 