Lucien Canton, Managing Director of the Emergency Preparedness Division at TAL Global, has over 30 years of experience in hazard and risk analysis, loss mitigation and emergency planning.

Lucien began his career serving in the United States Army in Germany and abroad in the late 1970s, then moved into the private security sector. In 1990, Lucien joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he helped develop the agency’s disaster response capabilities encompassing strategic planning, implementation and coordination and field operations. As a senior staff officer, he was critically involved in several California natural disasters including the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes, wildfires in Southern California and the California winter storms of 1995. Lucien’s experience further grew from extensive deployment on typhoon relief operations in the Pacific Trust Territories and the Caribbean, assignment to the elite National Emergency Response Team and as Chief of the Hazard Mitigation Branch of FEMA.

Highly regarded for his successful disaster response and mitigation programs, Lucien was appointed to Director of Emergency Services for the City of San Francisco, a position he held from 1996 until 2004. He also served as a policy advisor to Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., on emergency management and homeland security issues. Under Lucien’s direction, San Francisco modernized its emergency operations center and instituted aggressive disaster and terrorist response systems. He lobbied for the adoption of national emergency response standards and revised the city’s administrative code to incorporate the resulting standards. He expanded the role of volunteers and added key city agencies to the Disaster Council. His efforts transformed the Office of Emergency Services into the “gold” standard for regional emergency planning.

A respected author, Lucien has penned numerous articles on emergency management and security issues. His book, Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Successful Programs, is published by Wiley Press. Lucien’s credentials include certification by the International Association of Emergency Managers, American Society for Industrial Security, International Disaster Recovery Institute and Emergency Management Accreditation Program.