Staff

Executive Director 

Matthew Wall

Matthew Wall was appointed to the position of WSSPC Executive Director in January 2019.  He has extensive experience in the fields of emergency management and response, recovery, planning, and resilience.

From 2007 until 2018, Matthew served in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Emergency Management as Virginia Emergency Support Team (VEST) Coordinator, State Hazard Mitigation Officer, and Hazard Mitigation Project Coordinator. He was responsible for developing the state earthquake program after the Mineral, Virginia earthquake in 2011.

Matthew also dedicated a large part of his career to the City of Richmond, Department of Fire and Emergency Services, as a Firefighter, Fire Lieutenant, and Fire Captain from 1980 to 2006. As Captain, he was in command of personnel at his stations, developed work plans, trained personnel, and provided immediate emergency response for a city of over 200,000.

He is currently a member of the National Earthquake Resiliency Coalition (NERC) and a member of the Arizona Council on Earthquake Safety (ACES), and co-chair of the Hazard Equity Working Group (HEWG). He has previously served as chair of the National Earthquake Program Managers (NEPM), served as a member of the Executive Board for the Virginia Floodplain Managers Association (VFMA), the Executive Board for the Virginia State Animal Response Team (VASART), and as a member of the Virginia Chapter of the Silver Jackets.

His educational background includes a BS in Urban Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning (VCU). He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Education (EdD), Learning and Organizational Change at Baylor University.