William H. Turner III

State Emergency Management Director

William Turner joined the Connecticut State Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) in 2022 as the Emergency Management Director. The Director is responsible for directing staff and operations of DEMHS during disaster situations and overseeing coordination, planning and management of state and federal programs involving preparedness, planning, mitigation, response and recovery from emergencies and natural disasters, and during post-disaster recovery operations and pre-disaster planning

Prior to joining DEMHS William worked for the Chester County Department of Emergency Services (PA) in the Emergency Management Division as the Deputy Director for Emergency Management. In this role William directed and supervised daily emergency management operations and activities while providing leadership to ensure that all assigned initiatives were successfully executed. Prior to becoming Deputy Director William worked as an Emergency Planning Coordinator developing all hazards emergency management plans and then as the Program Manager for the Homeland Security Grant Program representing Chester County’s participation in the Philadelphia Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force.

William was the accreditation manager for Chester County’s Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) accreditation. In addition, Bill serves on the EMAP Emergency Management Standards Subcommittee, chairs the Emergency Management Operations Standards Workgroup and is also an EMAP assessor, assessment team lead, and instructor.