John Paras

John Paras currently serves as an Emergency Management Specialist for a local government in Northern Virginia. He oversees the developing, planning, and conducting of Emergency Support Function and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) training and exercises for the jurisdiction. John is an experienced instructor and subject matter expert on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) and provides training to various departments and organizations throughout Northern Virginia. He also serves in the jurisdiction’s EOC, providing support in response to incidents and events such as weather-related emergencies, the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, and large public events.
Additionally, John is an operational member of the National Capital Region Incident Management Team (NCR-IMT). The team is an All-Hazards IMT that manages major incidents in the DC metropolitan area and is ready to be deployed throughout the country. John’s last deployment with the NCR-IMT team was in 2018 to assist and manage Virginia’s response to the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Prior to working in emergency management, John served as a Firefighter/EMT for a Northern Virginia Fire Department for five years, responding to fires, medical emergencies, motor vehicle incidents, and hazardous material incidents. John is an Army Veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009-2010. He obtained a Graduate Certificate in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University and a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Tech.