Megan Milanese holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of South Florida and is credentialed as a Certified in Public Health (CPH) professional and a Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM). She is currently the Emergency Management Director for Lake County, Florida. She has led countywide responses to major hurricanes—including Ian, Nicole, Idalia, Debby, Helene, and Milton—overseeing large-scale operations to protect residents and strengthen community resilience.
Carlos is a seasoned professional with over 29 years of Emergency Management experience. He entered the United States Air Force at the age of 17 and retired 22 years later. While in the AF, his career field was, Disaster & Emergency Management holding several different positions like Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge, Superintendent, Flight Chief, and Air Force Emergency Manager. His EM experience was used all over the world including over 30 Emergency Operation Center Activations (including Aircraft incidents, Hurricanes, Typhoons, Flooding, Earthquakes, Pentagon Response, and the Japan Fukushima radiation incident). After the Air Force, he was hired by the Orange County Office of Emergency Management. During his 11 years with Orange County, he has managed the Emergency Operation Center through nine hurricanes activations, 1 tornado and the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Bill is the Emergency Management Director for Osceola County Office of Emergency Management. Bill graduated from Florida State University, with B.S. degree in Criminology and a Master’s Degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University. Bill is credentialed as a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) with the International Association of Emergency Managers, a Florida Profession Emergency Manager (FPEM) with the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA) and is a Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP). He is also a graduate of FEMA National Emergency Management Advanced Academy (NEMAA) and the FEMA National Emergency Management Executive Academy (NEMEA) – Cohort X.
Bill is responsible for the oversight of the county’s Emergency Management program and Intergovernmental Communication department. Prior to joining Osceola County, he has served in emergency management leadership positions with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Orlando Health, and the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management.
Bill has been involved with major disasters/incidents that have affected Central Florida which includes Hurricane Milton (2024), Hurricane Ian (2022), Hurricane Nicole (2022), COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-21) Hurricane Dorian (2019), Hurricane Irma (2017), Hurricane Matthew (2016), PULSE Nightclub shooting (2016), George Zimmerman Trial (2013) Trayvon Martin Incident (2012), Tropical Storm Fay (2008), Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Jeanne (2004).
Bill is a member of the Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF)-Incident Management Team; and serves on RDSTF as an Emergency Management Co-Chair; Orlando/Orange Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) as Emergency Management Co-Chair, Certification Commissioner with Florida Emergency Preparedness Association. He is a qualified Type 3 Incident Commander and Logistics Section Chief with the State of Florida.
Bill is a national committee member for Scouting America (SA) and a Board Member with the Central Florida Council, SA. Bill is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Silver Beaver, NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout, Council & Territory Alumnus of the Year awards. He is a Graduate of Leadership Osceola (Class 30); FBI Citizen’s Academy Graduate (18-1).
Clint Mecham is the Emergency Management Director for Volusia County. His duties include overseeing operations, training, preparedness, mitigation, and recovery for incidents involving all hazards within Volusia County. Clint was appointed to his position in August 2023.
Director Mecham began with Volusia County in 2023. He began his fire service career in 1996 as a Firefighter/EMT for Salt Lake County Fire Department, which later became Unified Fire Authority. He retired from Unified Fire Authority as a Division Chief in June of 2023. During his tenure, Clint has worked as a Firefighter/EMT, Hazmat Specialist, Station Captain, Hazmat Captain, Special Projects Specialist, Safety Officer, Public Information Officer, Deputy Emergency Manager, and Emergency Management Division Chief for Salt Lake County. Clint also served as a Logistics Manager for Utah Task Force One and deployed to World Trade Center, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, among other deployments. He also serves as a member of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Incident Support Team (IST). In this capacity has deployed to hurricanes Barry and Ian, among others.
Originally from Eastern Oregon, Clint holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Utah as well as a minor in Naval Science. He has also earned certificates and completed coursework at other institutions in disciplines such as Chemistry and Management and Leadership. Director Mecham is a subject matter expert in fire service and hazmat for a Department of Homeland Security research and development projects. Clint has been an adjunct instructor for Salt Lake Community College and the National Fire Academy, where he has taught courses in Firefighter Safety, Incident Command, All Hazards Finance Section Chief, All Hazards Safety Officer, All Hazards Logistics Officer, and Emergency Management, as well as various other courses domestically and internationally.
Eric is a dedicated Emergency Manager who is passionate about the field he works in and protecting those he serves. He began his career in Emergency Management in 2002. Eric has responded to emergencies and disasters of all different types and sizes to include a terrorist attack, 8 hurricanes, tropical systems, a special communicable disease, pandemic, a shooting in a hospital, severe weather, wildfires, multi-type vehicle accidents, mass casualty incidents, hazmat incidents, threats, etc. He is currently the Assistant Vice President, Emergency Management for Orlando Health, Inc. healthcare system in Central Florida. A position he was promoted to in November of 2023 after serving as the Senior Director, Emergency Management since June of 2019, prior to that as the Corporate Manager, Emergency Preparedness since February 2017; and starting within the organization as the Manager, Emergency Preparedness back in February 2010. He serves a total of 3,621 licensed beds within 15 hospitals (2 of which are level 1 trauma centers & 1 is a level 2 trauma center), 9 free standing emergency departments, 1 large cancer center, 3 outpatient surgical departments, 4 medical helicopters, 2 skilled nursing facilities, 600+ corporate ancillary & support facilities, and over 28,000 employees, and directly leads and manages 9 full time employees and 3 department interns.
Eric obtained his BS degree in Criminal Justice from Fairmont State College in West Virginia. Eric is certified as: Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), Certified Emergency Disaster Professional (CEDP), Corporate Crisis Management Certified (CCMC), Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional (CHEP), Certified Hospital Emergency Coordinator – Level 2 (CHEC-Level 2); Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM), Florida Professional Emergency Manager – Healthcare (FPEM-HC), and Emergency Management Specialist (SEM). He is state of Florida Type 3 All-Hazards Liaison Officer (LOFR) credentialed. He also has achieved the Master Military Emergency Management Specialist (MEMS), All-Hazards Liaison Officer Specialist, & Master Military Emergency Management Specialist Instructor designations from the State Guard Association – MEMS Academy.
Eric was selected as the Officer – Response Coordination with the U.S. Healthcare & Public Health Sector Coordinating Council. He is also 1 of 2 Health and Medical Co-Chair of the Central Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force representing 9 counties, Chair of the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange Executive Steering Committee, member of the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition Executive Committee, voting member of the Orlando/Orange Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) – Urban Area Working Group (UAWG), and a voting member of the Domestic Security Coordinating Group Executive Board. He served as the Orlando Health Executive Leader for Medical Crisis Management during the Special Olympics 2022 USA games from June 3rd – 12th, 2022, and the Orlando Health representative in the City of Orlando EOC for the 2024 US Olympic Team Marathon Trials.
Eric is very proactive in the Emergency Management field and continues to look for lessons learned and improvements to emergency response systems.
Dr. Romeo Lavarias is a Lecturer at the University of Central Florida School of Public Administration’s Emergency Management Program.
Previously, he was the Emergency Manager for the City of Miramar, FL from 2017-2024. He is a graduate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Advanced and Executive Academies.
He received a Doctorate in Public Administration (DPA) from Nova Southeastern University, Masters in Homeland Security & Defense from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College-City University of New York (CUNY), Masters in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Florida, Bachelors in Political Science and Graduate Certificate in Performance from Rutgers University. He has published articles and chapters on emergency management, ethics, and public administration.
