MaryAnn Tierney is the Deputy Managing Director for Emergency Management in the City of Philadelphia.

Since coming to Philadelphia in November 2006, Mrs. Tierney has overseen a transformation of the City’s emergency preparedness program, focusing on developing operational emergency plans, conducting training and exercises for first responders, building partnerships with the private sector and community organizations, and providing the public many avenues to learn about how to prepare for and stay informed during an emergency.

Previously, Mrs. Tierney spent over seven years with the New York City Office of Emergency Management, ending her tenure there as the Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Preparedness. During her time with New York City OEM, Mrs. Tierney oversaw a complete revision of the City’s Coastal Storm Plan including redesigns of the evacuation and shelter systems and development of a system for evacuating and sheltering individuals with special medical needs, and pet sheltering.

Mrs. Tierney has extensive experience coordinating large complex emergency response operations in the field and at Emergency Operations Centers. She has managed over 60 Emergency Operations Center activations in New York and Philadelphia and regularly responds to large emergencies to coordinate on-scene response activities. Mrs. Tierney was responsible for coordinating the debris operation at the World Trade Center and the Fresh Kills Landfill and the City’s application for Federal funding to reimburse costs associated with the response to and recovery from 9/11, which totaled over $4.75 billion.

Mrs. Tierney is a principal member of the National Fire Protection Association’s Technical Committee on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs (NFPA 1600) and has served as an adjunct professor teaching graduate-level courses on emergency preparedness

Mrs. Tierney holds a B.A. in political science from American University and a Masters in Public Administration from New York University. She was recently admitted to the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Executive Leaders Program.