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David (Randy) Padfield
Randy Padfield has more than 35 years of progressive leadership experience in public safety spanning various roles in the disciplines of fire/rescue services, special operations, Emergency Medical Services, and emergency management. He previously served
as the deputy director for Response Operations at PEMA, before being appointed
to director of the agency in 2019.
Prior to his tenure at PEMA, he was director of the Senator John J. Shumaker Public Safety Training Center at Harrisburg Area Community College, where he oversaw the development and delivery of training programs for fire, EMS, law enforcement and industry personnel.
He previously worked as a Critical Care Flight Paramedic, has served on a regional Incident Management Team and the state's All-Hazards Incident Management Team, and is a contract instructor for the Emergency Management Institute and the National Fire Academy at the National Emergency Training Center, where he teaches courses in special operations management and incident command/management.
Padfield is an original member of Pennsylvania Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team, where he serves as a Task Force Leader and member of the National Urban Search and Rescue Incident Support Team that responds to large, complex disasters.
He has responded to multiple local, regional, state, and national disasters and emergencies in various capacities throughout his career, including the scene of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, hurricanes and floods, and most recently the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, in 2021, and Hurricane Ian in 2022.
He is a native of Saint Clair, Schuylkill County, and lives in Cumberland County with his wife and their two children.
Executive Deputy Director
Jeffrey Boyle
Jeffrey Boyle was appointed Executive Deputy Director of PEMA after extensive experience and success leading the agency’s 911 program.
Boyle was responsible for the strategic planning, policy development, and management of a comprehensive, statewide 911 program. Partnering with the commonwealth's 911 community, Boyle made significant contributions that have allowed PEMA to meet the legislative requirements of Act 12 of 2015, and to facilitate the commonwealth's transition to
Next Generation 911.
Under Boyle's leadership, the 911 office distributed more than $1 billion in support of county 911 operations. He helped implement many reforms to streamline business processes and improve oversight of 911 funding.
A new grant program was implemented to incentivize consolidation/regionalization of 911 systems, address aging infrastructure within county 911 centers, and enhance GIS data across Pennsylvania. New requirements for Pennsylvania 911 systems related to training, certification, quality assurance, administration, and GIS have been adopted.
Prior to leading the agency’s 911 Program, Boyle established the Compliance Review Division within PEMA’s Administration Deputate to ensure grant recipients make adequate progress towards stated goals while complying with applicable laws, rules, and regulations. He also worked with all of PEMA’s federal grant programs during his time with the Office of the Budget, Comptroller Operations, prior to joining PEMA.
Boyle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the California University of Pennsylvania. He has 20 years of experience in progressively responsible accounting, audit, and information technology management positions with the commonwealth.
He is from Wilmerding, Allegheny County, and lives with his wife Marissa in Lancaster County.
Director of External Operations
Gregory Davis
Gregory Davis was born in Port Arthur, Texas, and spent most of his life between there and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He received his undergraduate degree in Disaster Science Management from Louisiana State University in 2013 and, upon graduation, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Louisiana Army National Guard.
He received his Master of Public Administration from Louisiana State University in 2019, and has completed numerous other professional courses and certifications, to include Certified Emergency Manager, Louisiana Emergency Manager Technical and Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator.
Greg started his career at the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as an intern in the Disaster Recovery Unit. He then moved on to the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office in 2014, where his duties included fire inspections, criminal arson investigations, and supervision over the states second-most populated region before assuming the role of agency Emergency Management Officer and State Urban Search & Rescue Coordinator, overseeing Louisiana’s eight US&R Task Forces while also serving as the Program Manager and Planning Section Chief on the LA US&R Incident Support Team.
He has been involved with every major disaster in Louisiana since 2012, in varying capacities, and out-of-state deployments including Hurricane’s Michael, Dorian, Harvey, and the 2019 Puerto Rico earthquakes.
In addition to his civilian career, Greg has 12 years of military service with Louisiana’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in progressively increasing roles of responsibility, and currently serves as the commander of the Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company. Along with a combat deployment to Iraq and Syria, he has assisted in emergency management training with the Belize Defense Force as a part of the State Partnership Program.
Deputy Director, Administration
Paula J. Wilcox
Paula Wilcox serves the citizens of Pennsylvania with more than 30 years of business administration and human resources experience. Having served as the Director of Administrative Services within the Office of the Governor for nearly 12 years, she joined the PEMA team as the Deputy Director for Administration in January of 2018.
Wilcox attended Williamsport Area Community College for business accounting. and brings many years of fiscal, accounting, and human resources experience from the private sector with her.
She and her husband, Alan, relocated from Bradford to Dauphin County in 2006.