Today, Staten Island Borough President Oddo announced the pro-bono support they're receiving from Brad Gair on the Staten Island USA Facebook page.
As stated in Borough President Oddo's post:
"Governor Cuomo announced yesterday he’s bringing back to his team some trusted old hands who had previously worked for his Administration. We think that is a smart approach, and we are happy to tell Staten Island we are partnering again with Brad Gair; he will be a pro bono Special Advisor to Borough Hall and the Staten Island elected delegation.
Brad and Staten Island walked many of those initial long miles after Sandy, and although there were some animated moments in those early days, a deep respect was earned and built. Brad is a cool head, an experienced voice, has a perspective from 20,000 feet, and yet still has the ability to see the minutiae on the ground. He will join our daily conference calls, and will be available around the clock for guidance."
Witt O'Brien's is honored to offer expert support the State of New York and the Borough of Staten Island and look forward to continued partnerships throughout the nation as we assist governments with their response and recovery efforts from COVID-19.
Brad Gair, Principal with Witt O'Brien's, one of the nation's premier disaster management consultancies. Brad is internationally recognized for his leadership roles in the signature disasters of the 2000s, having served as a FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer and in other key positions for scores of disasters, emergencies and special events, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Hurricane Katrina. He has twice served the City of New York, first as Deputy Commissioner of NYC OEM and then after Superstorm Sandy as founding Director of the Mayor's Office of Housing Recovery Operations and NYC Recovery Manager. In between city service, Brad supported the establishment of a new national disaster management agency in the United Arab Emirates. Currently, Brad is program manager for the $8 billion recovery and resilience program in the US Virgin Islands as the Territory recovers from back-to-back hurricanes in 2017. He is also currently leading the Witt O'Brien's Coronavirus support project for the City of San Jose, CA and advising the Bahamas on recovery from last year's Hurricane Dorian.