Carol Parks is the general manager for the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department. She was promoted to this position in August 2021, after serving as a senior emergency manager for twenty years with LA City. During her career, she has provided oversight for both long and short-term executive-level citywide emergency management projects and programs involving department-specific and/or multi-agency and multi-jurisdiction coordination. This includes implementation and oversight of various ongoing citywide initiatives such as the execution of the automated external defibrillation program; tsunami evacuation route initiative, disaster service worker program; supply chain resilience pilot study; disability, access, and functional needs planning and training; homeland security grants; emergency management planning, operations, and facility contracts; and citywide community preparedness initiatives including the current Ready Your LA Neighborhood program.
Prior to and during times of disaster and major planned events, she has served in leadership capacities to coordinate response and recovery activities. She has served in several oversight roles for the Emergency Operations Center activation for the COVID-19 activation. Ensuring that Angelenos and business owners are well informed and prepared for disaster is her career-long passion. This has led to opportunities to serve on leadership teams for Emergency Network Los Angeles and the Earthquake Country Alliance. Additionally, Parks has received numerous City and County Awards and recognition as a co-producer of an Emmy Award-winning public service announcement on the importance of family preparedness.
Parks is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelors in industrial management and holds a masters from Georgia State University in instructional Design. She and her husband have three daughters. She is an active member of her church and enjoys traveling, decorating and horseback riding.