Brett Compston

Administrator at Nevada Office of Emergency Management

Keynote

Colonel (Ret.) Brett Compston is the Administrator of the Office of Emergency Management / Homeland Security and Homeland Security Advisor for the State of Nevada, appointed in November 2024. He retired from the Nevada Army National Guard after 25 years of service. Most recently Compston served as Director of Operations, Training, and Plans, overseeing statewide training, operations, mobilizations, modernization, and strategic planning. Compston spent 15 years specializing in National Guard domestic operations, responsible for and leading specialty capabilities and subordinate units and task forces related to weapons of mass destruction response (WMD), Counter-Drug operations, civil disturbance operations, a joint operations center (JOC), provost marshal, anti-terrorism, emergency management, force protection, and integration and synergy with fusion centers in NV. His team also led the NVNG disaster response line of effort with international partner nations Fiji and Tonga. During the pandemic, Compston was named Nevada’s Incident Commander for the COVID-19 pandemic response. He has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia, along with overseas service in Germany. Compston served on multiple state and national emergency management committees and is active in IAEM, NEPA, and NEMA. Compston earned two Master’s degrees, a Harvard Kennedy School Executive Certificate and is a Harvard Senior Executive Fellow Program graduate, FEMA Vanguard Executive Crisis Leaders Fellow, graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School Executive Leaders Program, and a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM).