Jonathan Bratt, MS, NRP
Assistant Vice President
Division of Enterprise Resilience
Email: jbratt@umaryland.edu
DPA: University of Baltimore - Doctor Public Administration (exp. 2028)
MS: Rochester Institute of Technology – Emergency Management & Counter-Terrorism
BS: University of Maryland, Baltimore County – Emergency Health Sciences
Jon joined the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) in 2018 as the inaugural Executive Director for Emergency Management before stepping into the role of UMB's first Assistant Vice President (AVP) for Enterprise Resilience. In this capacity, he established a unified new division that integrates the Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, and the newly formed Department of Public and Occupational Health. As AVP, Jon leads UMB’s readiness and crisis response efforts across the entire institution, shaping the strategies and policies that govern preparedness, emergency response, recovery, and mitigation.
His career in public safety began as an EMT in New Jersey, where he responded to the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks—a pivotal experience that defined his life's work. Grounded in operational front-line service, he continues to serve today as an active firefighter/paramedic in Maryland.
Prior to his tenure at UMB, Jon built a portfolio in emergency management across state, federal, and international domains. He previously served as Director of the Regional Programs Division for Maryland's Emergency Medical Services agency, overseeing readiness and coordination for more than 10,000 prehospital providers. From 2008 to 2014, he helped establish FEMA's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Branch and served as Deputy Team Leader for the Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST), the United States government's interagency task force for responding to terrorist and weapons of mass destruction threats. During that same period, he worked within the Department of State's Prevention of Nuclear Smuggling Program, collaborating with international partners to advance counterterrorism and counterproliferation efforts across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Africa. He currently serves as Deputy Team Commander for the NJ-1 Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team, leading a team of healthcare professionals in response to disasters.
Deeply committed to advancing the profession, Jon serves on the Governor’s Emergency Management Advisory Committee and recently led a coalition whose advocacy secured Maryland’s first statewide disaster recovery fund, established by the General Assembly in 2023. He is equally passionate about developing future leaders, having taught at FEMA's National Disaster & Emergency Management University since 2014 and serving as faculty within the Emergency and Disaster Health Sciences program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Jon holds a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Health Sciences from UMBC and a Master of Science in Emergency Management and Counter-Terrorism from the Rochester Institute of Technology. As a Doctor of Public Administration candidate at the University of Baltimore, his research examines the influence of artificial intelligence on decision-making in complex crisis management. A FEMA Vanguard Executive Crisis Leaders Fellow, Jon was named to the Baltimore Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, and was recently selected for the Executive Leaders Program at the US Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense & Security.