James Lee Witt has been appointed executive director of Rebuild North Bay, a nonprofit recently launched to coordinate wildfire rebuilding efforts in California’s Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, and Solano counties.
Witt brings years of experience in emergency management and disaster recovery to his new role. He served as FEMA director during the Clinton administration, overseeing the recovery process for nearly 350 disasters across the country.
More recently, Witt served as chief executive officer of the International Code Council (ICC), from 2003 to 2006, following the consolidation of ICC’s three legacy organizations. The International Codes are used in all 50 states and many countries, according to the organization.
Witt told the San Francisco Chronicle that as head of Rebuild North Bay, his focus will be on making best use of every allocated federal, state, and local dollar, with the goal of building safer structures and more resilient communities.
“Given James Lee’s considerable experience with codes and standards, emergency management, and disaster recovery, I know that the North Bay will be in good hands as they begin the rebuilding process after the devastating wildfires,” says Dominic Sims, CBO, the current CEO of ICC. “We stand ready to lend our support as needed.”
