About RIEMA

Mission

The mission of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency is to reduce the loss of life and property for the whole community while ensuring that as a state we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all natural, human-caused, and technological hazards.

The Director

Mr. Marc R. Pappas was appointed Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency on December 27, 2018. He is a retired career law-enforcement professional with twenty-two plus years of service. He has worked his way up through the ranks, first as Regional Response Coordinator, then as Chief of the Preparedness Division, then as Acting Administrator Operations Management, then his most recent position as Executive Administrator. As the second in command, he was the supervisor for Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency Sections, Branches and its 38 employees.

As the Director, Mr. Pappas serves as the policy advisor to the Governor on emergency management matters and serves as the liaison between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and all local emergency management offices throughout the State. In addition, the Director oversees the coordination of various federal disaster and non-disaster grants for the State of Rhode Island. The Director also Chairs the State Interoperable Communications Committee, the State Emergency Response Commission, and is the Vice Chair of the Emergency Management Advisory Council. Originally from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, he attended LaSalle Academy, and graduated from Rhode Island College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.