The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced the appointment of Jay Van Der Werff as the new regional administrator for FEMA Region 7.
Van Der Werff officially began serving in the role Monday following his appointment by the Trump administration. He is no stranger to FEMA Region 7, having joined the agency’s Kansas City regional office in 2019 as the National Preparedness Division Director and Federal Preparedness Coordinator.
Before joining FEMA, Van Der Werff served 23 years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring from military service. He later held leadership positions with Garmin International, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, and Army University’s faculty development program.
Van Der Werff earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a master’s degree in management from Liberty University, and a doctorate in adult and continuing education from Kansas State University.
As regional administrator, Van Der Werff will lead a Kansas City-based team of more than 250 employees and oversee FEMA operations across Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. The Region 7 office works closely with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to support disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and hazard mitigation efforts throughout the four-state region.
Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 7 Press Release.
