Leadership

W.NIM KIDD, MPA, CEM®

W. Nim Kidd serves as the Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). In this capacity, he is responsible for the state’s emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities. Prior to serving with TDEM, Chief Kidd was appointed to the San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD), where he promoted through the ranks from firefighter to District Fire Chief, including Lieutenant in charge of the SAFD Technical Rescue Team and Captain of the SAFD Hazardous Materials Response Team.

From 2004 to 2010, Chief Kidd served as City Emergency Manager for the City of San Antonio, where he managed the city’s response to over a dozen state and presidential disaster declarations. In 1997, Chief Kidd was one of the original members appointed to the Texas Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team. In 2001, He was the Plans Section Chief that responded to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

Chief Kidd currently serves as chair for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Advisory Council (NAC).Chief Kidd holds a Masters of Public Administration from Texas State University, a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce, and two associates’ degrees. He is the Vice Chancellor for Disaster and Emergency Services for The Texas A&M University System. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®), a Texas Master Firefighter, and holds Hazardous Materials and Emergency Medical Technician certifications. Chief Kidd and his wife, Dr. Emily Kidd, M.D., share three children and a beautiful granddaughter together.

Blair Walsh

Blair Walsh is the Division Chief for Community Relations within the Chief Operating Officers Division and joined the TDEM team in August of 2019. Prior to joining TDEM, Blair worked in government relations for 13years serving Members for Congress, trade associations, and in state government. Most recently, Blair served as Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs at a global law firm, and prior to that served for 4 years at the Department of Public Safety. In that position she covered TDEM, criminal investigations ,intelligence and counterterrorism and cybersecurity policy issues in the office of government relations.

Blair attended the University of Oklahoma where she majored in Political Science. While Blair worked for the federal government, she attended National Defense University working toward a MA inStrategic Security Studies with an emphasis in conflict management.

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Contact

Blair.Walsh@tdem.texas.gov

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Chuck Phinney

Chuck Phinney is the Chief Operating Officer at the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). He has worked for TDEM since April 2011. He previously was the State Coordinator for Preparedness at TDEM. Prior to joining TDEM, Chuck worked for the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) with the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). At TEEX, he developed local, regional, state, and federal plans for states and jurisdictions across the country.

Chuck has worked in homeland security and emergency management for over 20 years. He has developed emergency response plans for local jurisdictions, regions, and state agencies. He has completed medical response plans, hazard mitigation plans, standard operating guides, field guides and training and exercise plans for states and local jurisdictions across the country. He worked the response and recovery phases for disasters like the West Explosion and Hurricanes Ike, Rita, and Harvey as well as for other disasters such as floods and wildfires.

Chuck received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from Texas A&M University. He and his wife Jill reside in Liberty Hill, Texas. He has five children, all graduates of Texas A&M University, and eight grandchildren.

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WARREN "COUNTRY" WEIDLER

Country Weidler is a Deputy Chief at the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) with responsibility for Preparedness and Response. Country has been with TDEM since 2021.

Prior to joining TDEM, Country served as the Search and Rescue (SAR) coordinator for the state of Texas through the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service. Chief Weidler is a veteran of the Austin Fire Department where he served for over 30 years, promoting through the ranks to Special Operations battalion chief.

Chief Weidler is a founding member of Texas Task Force 1 (TX- TF1). He responded to the World Trade Center disaster in September of 2001, the Space Shuttle Columbia incident, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike, the Moore, Oklahoma tornado and the West fertilizer plant explosion among many others. During Hurricane Ike, Chief Weidler led the statewide search and rescue effort.

During Hurricane Harvey, the largest hurricane response in Texas history, he coordinated statewide search and rescue, consisting of local, state and federal resources. Weidler served as an integral member of the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas. In August of 2018, Weidler served as the state’s representative to Texas’ historic response to catastrophic wildfires in California.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and in the spirit of “other duties as assigned,” Weidler assisted the state of Texas, leading the “Pony Express” and managing testing logistics. His 30 years as a first responder and subject matter expertise as a leader during all major disasters since 2014, made him an integral part of the state’s response to the pandemic.

Paula Hanson

Paula Hanson currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). She provides leadership and oversight of budgetary and fiscal matters, including financial operations, accounting processes and controls, budget formulation, and general management improvement programs.

Before joining TDEM, she served asAssociate Vice President & Comptroller at Texas A&M University-Commerce, and as Comptroller at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. In both roles, she was responsible for business and financial operations, including preparation of financial and legislative reports, financial analyses, and appropriate internal controls. She has over 25 years of Higher Education accounting and financial reporting experience and has been a certified public accountant since2008.

Paula earned her Bachelor’s inBusiness Administration in Accounting from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.She received a certificate from the College Business Management Institute(CBMI) in 2008 and completed the Governor’s Executive Development Program in2019.

Paula enjoys being active in local charitable organizations, and during her work at TexasA&M-Commerce, she was instrumental in helping strengthen the partnership between the university and the local community, while serving as a board member for the Northeast TexasChildren’s Museum and the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Texas. She remains an active member of the Texas Association of Senior State College andUniversity Business Officers (TASSCUBO) in the Legislative AppropriationsRequest Best Practices Steering Committee where, for years, she has been assisting with statewide training workshops.

Seth Christensen

Seth Christensen serves as the Chief of Media and Communications for the Texas Division of Emergency Management. In this role, Seth works directly with Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, as a member of the agency’s senior leadership, and oversees a team of individuals dedicated to coordinating the state’s emergency management media and communications functions, including the operation of the state’s joint information center during activations of the Texas State Emergency Operations Center.

Prior to joining TDEM in September of 2019, Seth served as the Chief of Staff at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department where he oversaw a broad portfolio of responsibilities to initiate transformative juvenile justice reforms with the implementation of “The Texas Model”, a comprehensive trauma-informed strategy for working with youth to improve outcomes and public safety.

Additionally, from 2015-2018, Seth served as a Policy Advisor in the office of Governor Greg Abbott, where he assisted the governor in formulating policy positions and implementing state policy on a variety of vital issues including emergency management, public safety, homeland security, juvenile justice, and the judiciary. As the governor’s liaison to the Texas Division of Emergency Management, he was particularly involved in helping coordinate the state’s response and recovery efforts for seven presidentially declared disasters, including historic Hurricane Harvey.

A native of Brenham, Texas, Seth received his Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law and his bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas A&M University.