Emergency Preparedness
Hazardous Weather Safety
Paul Latham, BSM, M.Ed., FPEM, CHS(813) 974-1310
A Florida native, Mr. Latham graduated high school in 1982 from Randallstown Senior High, Randallstown MD, and then served in the Navy as a Mass Communication Specialist. His diverse military experience included tours of duty on aircraft carriers, submarine tenders, airborne command posts, and senior flag-level staff positions. Most notable were assignments to the U.S. Naval Academy, The Pentagon-Chief of Naval Operations briefing team, and the National Airborne Operations Center as a Current Operations Section Chief.
During his naval career, Mr. Latham served throughout the United States and world including tours of duty in California, Virginia, Maryland, Nebraska, Florida, and Italy. Operational deployments afforded Mr. Latham opportunity to visit Brazil, Columbia, Japan, Great Britain, France, Spain, Greece, Nova Scotia, Portugal, Israel, Barbados, and Egypt.
Beyond his primary occupational specialty, Mr. Latham's duty assignments included positions as Training Officer, Instructor, Firefighter, Nuclear/Biological/Chemical (NBC) Response Team Member, Administrative Officer, and Enlisted Promotion Exam Writer. Immediately following the events associated with Hurricane Ivan (2004), Mr. Latham was appointed as the Disaster Preparedness Officer for the Naval Education and Professional Development Command, Saufley Field, Pensacola, FL, which he fulfilled until his retirement from active duty in October 2006.
Mr. Latham was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (5 awards), Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal (4 awards), and Navy Good Conduct Medal (6 awards), among other campaign medals and service ribbons. Additionally, Mr. Latham is authorized to wear Enlisted Air Warfare Specialist (Silver) and Naval Air Observer (Gold) wings
From October 2006 - April 2010, Mr. Latham served as an Emergency Management Coordinator and Hazardous Materials Technician within the Pasco County, FL Office of Emergency Management. During this short period of time Mr. Latham successfully managed floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and CBRNE related incidents, and attained his certification as a Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM).
Mr. Latham is a board member of the Tampa Bay Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee (CIPC), and Campus Security Committee within the Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF). He is also the regional voting member on the Florida State Working Group for Campus Security. Mr. Latham serves as the Area IV Governor and Chairman Higher Education Emergency Management Sub-Committee for the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA). Additionally, Mr. Latham serves on the Hillsborough County Local Mitigation Team, Post Disaster Redevelopment Planning (PDRP) Infrastructure Technical Advisory Committee, and Resilient Tampa Bay initiative. In 2011, Mr. Latham was appointed as the Advisor to the Director, Florida Division of Emergency Management for Emergency Management issues in Higher Education.
Mr. Latham holds a Bachelor of Science in Executive Management, magna cum laude, from Hodges University, and achieved his Master's in Education, with an emphasis in Disaster Preparedness, Social Vulnerability and Globalization from the University of South Florida.
