About

Lucien G. Canton has over 40 years’ experience in hazard and risk analysis, loss reduction, and emergency planning.

As the Director of Emergency Services for the City of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004, he was responsible for coordinating the City’s emergency management program and served as a policy advisor on emergency management and Homeland Security issues to Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. Under his direction, the City increased its overall response capabilities through modernization of the emergency operations center and the institution of an aggressive exercise program. Mr. Canton was instrumental in the development of the City’s terrorism response capability and coordinated major response plans for the Millennium and the electrical energy crisis. A strong supporter of volunteerism, he expanded the role of volunteers under the City’s emergency plan by developing mutual support linkages among various programs and adding key agencies to the Disaster Council. During his tenure with San Francisco, Mr. Canton successfully lobbied for the adoption of national standards for the City’s emergency management program and revised the City’s Administrative Code to incorporate the Standardized Emergency Management System. His commitment to professional standards transformed the Office of Emergency Services into a highly credible organization and a leading player in regional emergency planning.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Canton served as an Emergency Management Specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 1990 to 1996. He assisted in the development of Federal disaster response capability, to include tactical and strategic planning, inter agency coordination, and field operations. In addition to his duties as a planner, Mr. Canton served as a senior staff officer on all major disasters in Region IX including the Loma Prieta earthquake, Hurricane Iniki, the Northridge earthquake, the Southern California Wildfires, and the California Winter Storms of 1995. His experience includes extensive deployment on typhoon relief operations in the Pacific Trust Territories and the Caribbean and assignment to an elite National Emergency Response Team. Mr. Canton served as the Chief of the Hazard Mitigation Branch for Region IX with responsibility for administering post-disaster mitigation programs. Because of his extensive disaster experience, Mr. Canton served on national task forces and working groups developing the Federal Response Plan and is the co author of key components of the Federal disaster intelligence system.

Mr. Canton served with the US Army in Germany from 1975 to 1980 and held a variety of positions in the US and abroad in the private security industry from 1980 to 1990. His credentials include certification by the International Association of Emergency Managers as a Certified Emergency Manager and recognition by the Disaster Recovery Institute, International as a Certified Business Continuity Professional. Mr. Canton is the author of Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs and of numerous articles on emergency management and security issues. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Business Administration in International Management degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.