Diogenes Ayala is currently serving in the role of Emergency Management & Homeland Security Director for Madison County, where he is responsible for planning, protection, mitigation, response & coordination for all hazards that can affect the community. His goal is to build a culture of preparedness for residents and visitors of Madison County. Mr. Ayala has completed numerous operations, exercises, and threat assessments in his role as director.

In his prior position as Director of Criminal Justice at Southwestern Community College, Mr. Ayala was responsible for delivering education, training and mentorship for undergraduate students seeking careers in public safety. In March of 2022, Mr. Ayala led recovery operations after a EF4 tornado caused fatalities and damaged properties in Madison County. This operation involved over one thousand volunteers in thirty days.

Mr. Ayala, a veteran of the United States Navy, holds an undergraduate and graduate degrees in Criminal Justice from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He is also a graduate of Texas A&M Infrastructure Protection Program. Mr. Ayala has completed Executive Leadership Education from the University of Notre Dame and Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Operations from the Department of Homeland Security Center of Domestic Preparedness. Mr. Ayala is also a graduate of The Bomb-Making Materials Awareness Program (BMAP) which is a counterterrorism bombing prevention program, sponsored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)’s Office for Bombing Prevention.

On March 5th 2022, Madison County was impacted by an EF4 tornado which caused loss of lives, homes and infrastructure. This presentation will discuss preparedness before the tornado, response of first responders, volunteer management and community recovery.

Learning Objectives:

1. Apply best practices from the tornado.
2. Relevance of the tornado information.
3. Specific information that can be used for recovery.