Katie Simmons

Katie Simmons is a Deputy Administrative Officer over Economic and Community Development for Butte County, California. In her role, she oversees nearly $180M in federal and state grants for disaster recovery from a series of catastrophic wildfires, and works closely with local, state, and federal agencies and elected officials on response, recovery, and mitigation. 

Katie develops and implements the County’s Regional Economic Development Strategy aimed at increasing economic resilience; is currently overseeing development of the countywide Local Hazard Mitigation Plan with all jurisdictions; and is a key partner in implementing the Upper Ridge Community Plan – the County’s recovery plan from the Camp Fire. She works closely with her team to develop grant-funded projects and programs that address critical community needs including evacuation planning, hazardous fuel management, food bank supplies and services, and housing rehabilitation and reconstruction loans.

Fellowship Project: Building a disaster recovery model that measures community indicators such as housing and employment to track progress. Staff will use this model to understand recovery after a disaster, and to help shape their recommendations for the development, delivery, and adaptation of recovery programs and policies over time. 

Learn more about Katie's work in Three Fire Mountains: Stories of Wildfire and Recovery in California (Work in Progress), and discover her approach to recovery triage.