Director, Office of Emergency Management
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
Naples, Florida, United States
Paul Downing is the Director of the Office of Emergency Management for the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and a retired U.S. Army Field First Sergeant with over 22 years of military service. He has led tribal emergency management programs in both Florida and the Northeast, spanning disaster response, continuity planning, hazard mitigation, homeland security coordination, and federal preparedness initiatives.
Paul previously served as Director of Emergency Management for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and as a Tribal Executive representative on FEMA's National Advisory Council. His work focuses on strengthening tribal preparedness capabilities, integrating tribal sovereignty into emergency management policy, and improving coordination between tribal, state, and federal partners.
He recently completed the Master's Program at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School, where his research focused on structural inequities in homeland security grant funding for tribal nations. Paul is a frequent speaker on tribal sovereignty in emergency management, grant-funding equity, and intergovernmental coordination, drawing on his National Advisory Council experience and more than two decades of field practice. He is also a qualified instructor for FEMA's EMPP, EMU Tribal Curriculum, RDPC, and ICS courses.
Sovereignty and Preparedness in Tribal Emergency Management
Monday, November 9, 2026
3:15 PM - 3:45 PM PST