Thomas Hughes

As the state hazard mitigation officer, Tom Hughes is the principal staff member to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and commonwealth leadership for all matters related to mitigation. He supervises one hazard mitigation planner and four hazard mitigation project officers. He has oversight of the state and 67 county hazard mitigation plans as well as 14 state disaster resistant university plans. His office has managed over 200 successful hazard mitigation projects in excess of $100 million since 2009. 

Hughes serves as the chair for the state hazard mitigation planning and application review teams. He is co-chair for the nationally recognized Pennsylvania Silver Jacket team and is PEMA's representative on the Pennsylvania land use committee. Since 1993, he has participated in over 27 presidentially declared disasters. Currently, he is one of three state hazard mitigation officers on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) national hazard mitigation external stakeholder workgroup, made up of representatives from three federally recognized tribes, three FEMA regional offices, and three local jurisdictions.