Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration bid farewell to an extraordinary colleague.  As many of you know, Drew Dawson, Director of the Office of EMS, retired from Federal service effective Friday, October 30th.
 
A former EMT and state EMS Director, Drew was instrumental in working with our Federal partners to provide coordinated support to the EMS community, both at the state and local level.  Please join me in wishing Drew well and thanking him for 12 years of dedicated service as the director of the Office of EMS.
 
As NHTSA prepares to find a permanent replacement for Drew, I would like to introduce the two current NHTSA office directors who will alternate in providing leadership for the very capable staff of the Office of EMS.
 
John Marshall has served as a Virginia State Trooper, a U.S. Marshal, director of the U.S. Marshals Service and as Secretary of Public Safety in Virginia.  Mike Brown served with the California Highway Patrol for more than 30 years, including as commissioner of the agency.  He also served as deputy secretary for public safety for the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.
 
With their extensive history in public safety, John and Mike will provide outstanding leadership to the dedicated Office of EMS staff and the projects and initiatives currently underway. During this transition time, the focus of the staff and leadership of the Office of EMS will be on continued partnerships and collaboration in advancing our key initiative areas in support of the EMS and 911 communities.
 
Mike will assume the interim director role effective November 2.  I hope you get an opportunity to interact with either or both of these gentlemen during their time in this interim role. Mike can be reached at Michael.L.Brown@dot.gov and 202-493-0019.
 
The national search for a permanent new office director will begin in the coming months and information will be posted at www.USAJobs.gov.
 
Please feel free to reach out to your regular staff contacts (Susan, Laurie, Cathy, Dave, Gam and Noah) within the Office of EMS, to me, or to John and Mike with any questions.