William Ray

William Ray was appointed director of Emergency Management in July 2021 and is charged with leading efforts to ensure the state’s all-hazards preparedness and coordinating the necessary response to support local jurisdictions and partner agencies when needed.  He also serves as the state’s deputy homeland security advisor, supporting the federal and state interagency partners in public safety, law enforcement, and intelligence matters.

Ray most recently served as the chief of staff at North Carolina Emergency Management. As such, he was the principal deputy coordinating and supervising the work of North Carolina Emergency Management. He joined NCEM in early 2018 as the assistant director for the Plans and Homeland Security Section. Ray also has served in several emergency response roles at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, in local government and in the private sector.

Ray holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the Virginia Military Institute and a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He currently serves as Vice Chair of the State Emergency Response Commission, on the Radiation Protection Commission, and on the Interagency Council for Coordinating Homelessness Programs.

Ray currently serves as a Tri-Chair for the NEMA-GHSAC-ASTHO Joint Policy Work Group, and has previously served on the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor Council (GHSAC) Executive Committee and the GHSAC Foreign Influence Work Group Steering Committee, the ASTHO Preparedness Policy Committee, and the N.C. Institute of Medicine’s Pandemic Preparedness Task Force Steering Committee.