Alicia Tate-Nadeau

Tate-Nadeau studied business at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. In 1984, after the Dean of Woman at her school suggested it would help raise her GPA, she joined the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC). She would later transfer to the University of Central Oklahoma, graduating with a degree in health. In 1986, through the university's ROTC program, she was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.[4] Tate-Nadeau later earned master's degrees in Health Administration and Strategic Studies from Governors State University and the United States Army War College, respectively.[5][6] Credentialed in 2003 as a Certified Emergency Manager by the International Association of Emergency Managers, Tate-Nadeau also received Executive Certification in Counter-Terrorism - International Institute for Counter-Terrorism from the Lauder School of Government, Herzliya, Israel in 2013 and is a 2018 graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School Executive Leaders Program.[7][8]

Tate-Nadeau was appointed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve as the Executive Director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) in 2016 bringing to OEMC more than three decades of experience in national security, emergency management and public safety issues.[9] As the Executive Director of OEMC, Tate-Nadeau oversees the department's mission to coordinate the City's public safety efforts and ensure the security of every resident. She also serves as the Chairman of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF) Emergency Management Committee.[10]

As a member of the National Guard for over 32 years, she has held a significant amount of command, operational, and staff positions at the company, battalion, brigade, division, and directorate level, including tours at the Pentagon, Iraq, and Israel.

When Tate-Nadeau was appointed as the first female Illinois Army National Guard Director of Plans, Operations and Training in 2007 and ending in 2010 when she assumed duties as the Director of the Joint Staff, she called it, retrospectively, as "the hardest job I've ever had."[9][10]

In late 2011, she was selected by the National Guard Bureau to be the first Liaison Officer to the Israeli Home Front Command, Ramla, Israel, returning three years later.[1][11] The Home Front Command operates in various emergency situations, specializing in the field of civilian protection similar to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Guard entities of the individual states and territories of the United States.[12]

Shortly after her return to Illinois, Tate-Nadeau was appointed in March 2015 as the first female Illinois Army National Guard Assistant Adjutant General and among her responsibilities was overseeing the Illinois National Guard's domestic preparedness, including responses to natural disaster.[13] She also served in a dual-hat position as the Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard (Reserve Component), United States Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. In this role, Tate-Nadeau represented the Chief, National Guard Bureau and Director, Army National Guard and served as the advisor to the Commanding General, United States Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, for all Army National Guard issues.[13]

Prior to the OEMC, Tate-Nadeau served in a civilian capacity with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Chicago, where she was responsible for heading a 12 person-rapid response team assigned to cover FEMA's Region V.[14] This area includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Their team needs to be "the first ones on the ground, representing the federal government in case of an emergency."[15]

Preceding her 2017 retirement, Tate-Nadeau was named as an inductee to the inaugural class of the U.S. Army ROTC Hall of Fame at Fort Knox, Kentucky and a 2015 Distinguished Alumna by the University of Central Oklahoma Alumni Association.[16][17]

Tate-Nadeau currently serves on the Regional Board of Directors of the American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois. Additionally, in her capacity as a retired general officer she is a member of Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan national security organization of over 700 retired admirals and generals who strengthen national security by ensuring kids stay in school, stay fit, and stay out of trouble.[18]

She currently serves as the Acting Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.[2]