Gonzalez to oversee County’s Office of Emergency Services

San Bernardino County has hired Crisanta Gonzalez to oversee the the county’s Office of Emergency Services (OES). As director, Gonzalez will play a critical role in strengthening the county’s emergency preparedness, response and recovery capabilities to ensure the protection of life and property before, during and after natural disasters.

Throughout her career, Gonzalez has demonstrated effective leadership in working with various teams to ensure a successful and coordinated response to natural disasters and other types of emergencies. During her tenure as a manager with the California Department of Water Resources, she was assigned to the Flood Operations Center, where one of her priorities was the fleet program including the emergency response vehicles and she was a member of Incident Command Team 5, which focused on strategic planning, logistics and management of large-scale incidents.

She most recently worked at the City of Los Angeles as a division chief in the Emergency Management Department, where she spearheaded the creation of Ready Your LA Neighborhood (RYLAN), a disaster preparedness program offering tools and resources to help neighbors come together to create a plan for any type of emergency.

“Crisanta comes to us with more than a decade of experience in emergency management and community preparedness,” said Board of Supervisors Chair and Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe. “She also has experience in revolutionizing services and enlivening emergency operations plans for large-scale disasters. I am confident in her ability to take OES to a new level.”

As a part of her new role, Gonzalez has been tasked with providing strategic direction that enables the county to respond to, recover from and mitigate natural disasters and other emergencies; coordinating with San Bernardino County Fire, the Sheriff’s Department, Department of Public Works and other key internal and external stakeholders to ensure the county responds swiftly and effectively to disasters; and making certain the county’s emergency operating plans are updated and in compliance.

“My priorities are families and communities,” Gonzalez shared. “Whether that is our children, parents, pets or neighbors, we all want the same thing, to be prepared for any emergency. OES with our county partners are all part of a holistic community approach to emergency management. By supporting the hard work of DPW (Department of Public Works), the Sheriff’s Department and County Fire before, during and after any emergency, we ensure that every family and community has the resources and tools they need to be prepared.”