Bob Fields
Certified Emergency Manager
Santa Clara Valley Water District

For nearly a quarter of a century, Bob Fields has developed and led innovative, widely recognized emergency management programs in California. He manages the emergency preparedness and response program for the Santa Clara Valley Water District in San Jose, Silicon Valley's wholesale water supplier and local government flood protection agency. Before assuming that role he served 12 years as a district administrator with the San Mateo Operational Area Office of Emergency Services (OES) and eight years with the Santa Clara County OES, where he was emergency planning coordinator and twice acting director.

His work in designing and constructing several state-of-the-art emergency operations center has earned national attention. He has also designed unique "common-sense" emergency response management software applications and component systems as well as developed, implemented (and manages) a policy governance model emergency management professional program.

In addition to a master of public administration degree (with undergraduate studies in educational psychology), he is an International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Certified Emergency Manager (CEM). Bob's professional commitment has also extended to leadership roles in community-based emergency management associations and the regional Collaborative for Disaster Mitigation based at San Jose State University, where he is an executive board member.