Pete Gomez

Adjunct Professor / AIDP Undergraduate Program

Phone: 786-367-7746

Email: pegomez@fiu.edu

Pete Gomez possesses nearly 40 years of experience in the fire service and the field of emergency management. Pete joined the public sector as a Police Officer in the City of Hialeah in 1983 and worked there until 1985 when he joined the City of Miami Fire-Rescue Department where he became certified in many of the special response areas such as the Dive Team, Hazardous Materials Team, and the Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR). Pete rose through the ranks to become the Assistant Chief of Emergency Management for the City of Miami, Pete served as the administrator of the Department of Homeland Security’s Urbans Area Security Imitative (UASI) which brings millions of dollars into the South Florida region for the purpose of homeland Security. The Urban Search and Rescue Team is one of the 28 Federally funded Teams that response to disasters nationally as well as internationally such as the World Trade Center collapse and the recent earthquake in Haiti, the response to Florence and most recently, the Pan Handle of Florida for Hurricanes Michael and Irma. He was a member of the State of Florida’s Domestic Oversight Council, Executive Board, Co-Chair of the Special Response Teams Coordinating Group, belonged to the Regional Domestic Security Task Force and participated on the City of Miami’s Sea Level Rise Committee.

Pete left the City of Miami in 2020 to become the Senior Director of the Academy for International Disaster Preparedness at FIU. In his position at FIU, he oversaw the COVID 19 Testing Site and the launch of the bachelor’s program in Disaster Management.

Currently, Pete is the Director of the Miami-Dade Department of Emergency Management responsible for the development, implementation, and administration of the County’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP). Pete received an Associate of Arts degree from Miami Dade Community College and his Bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University in Fire Science Management. He received his Master’s degree from American Military University graduating Cum Laude with a 3.975 GPA.