Zach Shean, Emergency Management Coordinator

Zach Shean has been with Harnett County Emergency Services since 2009 where he started with the EMS Division. In 2014, he advanced to serve as the Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator for Harnett County, and in 2019 he was promoted to Emergency Management Coordinator, where he serves today. He began his public service career as a volunteer firefighter with Angier Fire & Rescue and went on to serve as a volunteer Rescue / EMS Captain with Dunn Emergency Services.  Prior to his employment with Harnett County Emergency Services, he worked as the shift supervisor for Erwin Fire & Rescue serving as a Firefighter and EMT.  Shean has worked in various parts of emergency management including field operations, on scene incident management and managing the emergency operations center in various floods, natural disasters and training events. He possesses an associate's Degree in Emergency Management from FTCC and working towards a bachelor's in Emergency Disaster Preparedness from Western Carolina University. In 2023, Shean was awarded the prestigious Vance E. Kee Award from the North Carolina Emergency Management Association.  That award is given to a local government emergency management professional who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in their emergency management program, through promoting emergency management among local and state agencies and elected officials. He is married and has two children. Shean possesses the following certifications:

Ryan Dawson, Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator

910-893-7580
rdawson@harnett.org

Ryan Dawson has been the Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator since 2023.  Dawson began his career in public service as a volunteer junior firefighter at age 14 with Sandy Bottom Fire & Rescue and later at North Lenoir Fire & Rescue. As a volunteer firefighter, he ascended through the ranks from firefighter all the way to Deputy Fire Chief. Prior to joining Harnett County Emergency Services, he worked 20 years at the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office in Kinston, NC where his last 10 years were in administration and last assignment was 7 years as the Chief Deputy Sheriff and second in command over approximately 130 employees. He received numerous commendations including the Medal of Valor, the Law Enforcement Purple Heart and NC Officer of the Year along with numerous other prestigious recognitions.  During his paid and volunteer career in law enforcement and the fire service, he cross trained in areas of emergency management such as active shooter response, missing persons incidents, land search and rescue and incident management, which led him to Harnett County as the Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator. His training and experience includes work in field operations, on scene incident management and in the Emergency Operations Center. Dawson possesses a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in psychology from Appalachian State University and is a graduate of NC State University Law Enforcement Executive Program. He is married and has two children and continues to serve as a volunteer firefighter and engineer in Harnett County at Buies Creek Fire & Rescue. Dawson possesses the following certifications: