Christopher Godley Temporarily Named Interim Emergency Manager for Sonoma County

On March 12, 2018, Christopher Godley, a nationally respected emergency services leader, has been temporarily named the interim Emergency Manager of Sonoma County. Mr. Godley will take the helm of the Emergency Services Division for several months while the County conducts a national recruitment to find a qualified individual to serve as the permanent Emergency Manager.

Mr. Godley has extensive emergency management experience in the Bay Area and around the United States, including previous leadership roles with Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, San Jose and Marin County.

“Christopher Godley will provide the leadership and expertise that is needed to begin setting the framework for community preparedness and resiliency,” said Board of Supervisors Chair James Gore. “As board chair, I look forward to working with him in the interim to start to rebuild confidence in our emergency services.”

Mr. Godley’s initial priorities are to identify and analyze various staffing models for the Emergency Services Division and to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on the most effective County Department to oversee these functions. In addition, Mr. Godley will lead the County’s efforts to work with our partner agencies and the public to develop a comprehensive Community Warning Program. Also, he will oversee the development of the County’s After Action Report on the Emergency Operations Center during the October 2017 wildfires.

Most recently, Mr. Godley served as a senior advisor to the City of Santa Rosa after the October 2017 wildfires and as the Director of Emergency Management for the City of San Jose from 2010-2013. Prior to that, he was the Manager of Emergency Services for Marin County from 2001-2010 and Sonoma County’s Deputy Emergency Services Coordinator from 1995-2001. He has also served in a variety of roles, including incident commander, emergency operations center (EOC) coordinator, section chief, liaison officer, and project manager, in response to 14 presidential, 18 state, and more than 25 local disasters. Major Godley is a 20 year veteran of the United States Army Reserve and California Army National Guard.