TDEM expands its number of regions, including Hill Country

The Texas Division of Emergency Management recently announced the transfer of Assistant Chief Brandi Ashby to the newly- created TDEM Region 8.

TDEM now has eight geographic regions, an increase from six, to reflect and address our commitment to service delivery at the local level for emergencies and disasters throughout Texas.

The new boundaries for TDEM Region 8 encompass the Hill Country, Central Texas, Texas Capitol and Brazos Valley areas.

“As TDEM’s geographic footprint changes, Assistant Chief Ashby’s experience will help our agency maintain connections with our local partners and ensure we have strong leadership in place for this restructure of responsibilities,” said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. “I thank her for her dedicated service to the people of Texas and look forward to continuing our impactful work under her leadership in Region 8.'

Ashby joined TDEM in 2010 as a district coordinator based along the Coastal Bend.

In that role, she was involved in numerous events and declared disasters including the response and recovery to the severely impacted landfall counties during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Additionally, she has deployed to numerous other incidents through the state as well as out of state.

Ashby is a member of the Texas Emergency Managers Association, International Association of Emergency Management, and an original member of the Coastal Bend Emergency Managers Association. She holds the designation of Certified Emergency Manager and Certified Texas Emergency Manager.

She completed her Bachelor's of Applied Arts and Sciences degree in Emergency Management Administration from West Texas A&M University. She is working on her M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Columbia Southern University.

Ashby will be headquartered in College Station.

Kidd also announced the promotion of Section Chief Erica McDowell to Assistant Chief of TDEM Region 1, which now encompasses Northwest Texas from the Panhandle to the Big Country.

Additionally, Kidd announced the promotion of Section Chief Michael Bradberry to Assistant Chief of TDEM Region 3, which now encompasses East Texas from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico.