Profile: Kelly Echeverria

 

Email: KEcheverria@washoecounty.gov Phone: 775-399-4811

Kelly Echeverria is the Washoe County Emergency Management Administrator. Her responsibilities include leading Washoe County in planning, training, responding, mitigation, and recovery from all hazards.

Kelly Echeverria hails from Fairfax, VA. She moved to Reno in search of mountains and lakes and has lived there for the past decade. Ms. Echeverria started responding to emergencies in the Northern Virginia area during 9/11. She acted as a volunteer for the American Red Cross. Ms. Echeverria aided in recovery efforts throughout the New Orleans region following Hurricane Katrina. It was her experience in Louisiana that led her to pursue a career in Emergency Management. Ms. Echeverria got her start in Nevada as an AmeriCorps member of the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross. She has responded to numerous incidents including Superstorm Sandy, home fires, wildland fires, flooding, winter storms, power outages, tornados, and civil unrest. She has also served during County, State, and Federally declared emergencies such as hurricanes, flooding, and numerous wildland fires affecting urban areas.

As the Client Services Liaison for the American Red Cross, she coordinated long-term housing solutions with FEMA in their New Jersey Joint Field Office for Superstorm Sandy recovery and has worked closely with the Nevada Division of Emergency Management (DEM) for a decade. As the Washoe County Emergency Management Program Coordinator, she was responsible for all Emergency Management grants and budgetary management, planned and participated in several major exercises with state and regional agencies and jurisdictions, managed the update of all regional plans, and led the EMAP re-accreditation in 2020.
She serves on the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee, the State Emergency Response Commission, the Nevada Emergency Preparedness Association, the International Association of Emergency Managers, and represents Washoe County on the State Homeland Security Commission.

Ms. Echeverria has bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and international Relations from Roanoke College and a master’s degree in Crisis and Emergency Management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a FEMA Advanced Academy alumnus. She is a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers and the Nevada Emergency Preparedness Association. Ms. Echeverria serves IAEM on the Awards and Recognition Committee and as the Region 9 State Liaison.

Kelly Echeverria can be reached by phone at 775.399.4811, or by email at KEcheverria@washeocounty.gov.