New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Brian D. Nobrega Jr. of New Bedford has been selected to succeed Mark M. Mahoney, who retired at the end of 2016 but has continued to serve on an interim basis, as the next Director of Emergency Management.
Most recently serving as an administrator with the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Beaches, Brian Nobrega has experience in the public and private sector that translate to the duties of Director of Emergency Management, including as an assistant harbormaster with the Town of Dartmouth and an assistant shellfish warden with the City.
Nobrega is a certified first responder, CPR- and AED-certified, and first aid-certified, and holds a U.S. Coast Guard-approved 50-ton Captain’s license for inland waters.
In his role at the Department of Parks, Recreation & Beaches, he was responsible for the department’s finance and operations. In both New Bedford and Dartmouth, his maritime enforcement experience as assistant harbormaster and assistant shellfish warden has included enforcing regulations on the water. He previously served as Operations Manager for the Community Boating Center, and has led his own private sound and lighting company. Nobrega holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and completed several courses with the Northeast Maritime Institute in Fairhaven.
In recommending Brian Nobrega, Fire Chief Michael Gomes said he has worked with Nobrega over the past several years and found him to be competent and motivated, as well as knowledgeable in planning emergency responses to events such as the Buzzards Bay Regatta for several consecutive years.
“This position requires strengths in the areas of planning and communications, and Mr. Nobrega has certainly demonstrated these in his current position,” said Chief Gomes. “In recent years, the Emergency Management division has handled reimbursement submissions for disaster declarations, and with a background in accounting and his experience in Parks and Recreation, he has managed grants and developed budgets for the department.”
Police Chief Joseph Cordeiro said in his recommendation of Nobrega for the position, “Brian Nobrega is an excellent fit for the Emergency Management Director position. It is clear to me that, having worked with him on several projects, he will foster a strong collaborative and cooperative spirit with all the public safety departments in New Bedford.”
“Brian Nobrega is a take-charge manager and a quick-learner who works well with others. I believe that he will be an effective emergency management director,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell. “That said, he has big shoes to fill with the departure of longtime director Mark Mahoney, to whom the City owes a debt of gratitude for the many storms and other emergency events he has capably managed in the course of his career. I am also personally grateful for Mark’s willingness to stay on the past several months during the search for his successor.”
The Director of Emergency Management manages the Emergency Management Division of the New Bedford Fire Department and is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the emergency management programs for the City; provides a variety of technical, administrative and supervisory work in directing and implementing emergency preparedness; and coordinates activities of the Emergency Management Division with other local, State, Federal, non-profit and private sector agencies and organizations.
