King County names experienced local emergency manager to lead County’s Office of Emergency Management

City of Tukwila Emergency Coordinator Hillman Mitchell will help expand and strengthen County’s regional connections

King County today named Hillman Mitchell as Director of its Office of Emergency Management. In this role, Mitchell will supervise 18 employees at the Emergency Communications and Coordination Center in Renton, 11 employees at the Emergency 9-1-1 office in South Seattle, and oversee a budget of $23 million.

“I am very excited to join the experienced team at King County, and to help move the region into a position of better preparedness and capability to respond to disasters,” said Mitchell. “I look forward to expanding my work with our local, state and city partners, and with the private sector to create more open communication and emergency collaboration across all levels of government.”

Mitchell will replace Robin Friedman, who resigned to pursue other local and international professional opportunities. Mitchell is currently the City of Tukwila Emergency Management Coordinator, and he is well known to many county employees as well as regional emergency managers for his outstanding work with Tukwila and in his previous role as Government Liaison Specialist for the American Red Cross. He begins his new role as Office of Emergency Management Director on August 3.

The mission of the King County Office of Emergency Management is to provide leadership and high-quality services that improve the safety of the public in King County, and specializes in disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.