Paul is the Emergency Management Director for Polk County, Florida.  He is responsible for the operations of the County’s E 9-1-1 System and Addressing Programs, the Emergency Management Program, and the County’s Radio Communications Program/Public Safety Radio System. Paul earned an associate degree from Polk Community College, a bachelor’s degree in Public Safety Administration from St. Petersburg College, and a master’s in Emergency and Crisis Management from the University of Central Florida.

Paul is a 4th generation Polk County native graduating from Bartow High School in 1989.  He became involved in Public Safety in 1992 as a volunteer firefighter.  Following five years working in the Polk County Fire/EMS dispatch center, Paul accepted a disaster services position with the Polk County Chapter of the American Red Cross in 1998.  He was deployed to North Carolina after Hurricane Floyd, Sarasota after Tropical Storm Gabrielle, and worked in the Red Cross Disaster Operations Center in Falls Church, VA and the Disaster Computer Center in Austin, TX.

In 2003 Paul was hired by Manatee County Emergency Management as a Contingency Planner.  Paul was deployed to Polk County following Hurricane Charlie in 2004, to Hancock County, MS following Hurricane Katrina and Monroe County, FL following Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

In December 2005, Paul began work as the Emergency Management Program Manager in Polk County.  He was responsible for overseeing the Polk County Emergency Operations Center along with traditional EM planning, training, exercises, shelters, special needs program, and mitigation.  Paul was the EM project manager for the construction of the new Polk County EOC in 2009-2010.  In 2012 Paul was deployed to New York City following Superstorm Sandy and in 2016 to Putnam County following Hurricane Matthew. In February 2018, Paul was selected as the Emergency Management Director for Polk County.  Paul was deployed to Calhoun County following Hurricane Michael in 2018.