About Cece Pinto

Cecile Pinto, owner and principal of EPPIC Strategies, has had a lifelong passion for emergency management and has worked in a variety of aspects including wildland firefighting and as a fire apparatus engineer. Her love for the outdoors motivated her to take a position of further responsibility as a State Conservationist where she lead crews in conservation work and taught wildland firefighting techniques to Corps members.

After years as a first responder protecting the environment, Cecile wanted to do more to proactively protect the communities we live and work in. This inspiration led her to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) where she started as an Emergency Services Coordinator assisting local governments, state agencies, and community partners to build sound emergency management programs. Soon, Cecile was appointed as the Coastal Region Administrator overseeing the State’s Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC) and managing support to the Operational Areas. As the Coastal Region Administrator, she chaired the Mutual Aid Regional Advisory Committee (MARAC) and took on a myriad of statewide projects including the rewrite of the Emergency Managers Mutual Assistance (EMMA) plan, regional training and exercise programs, and integration of the private sector into the REOC.

Upon retiring from Cal OES, she went to work for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company shortly after the San Bruno pipeline explosion. One of her first responsibilities was to build a Gas Emergency Preparedness Unit in the new Gas Emergency Preparedness Organization. Cecile and her team led the integration of the use of the Incident Command System (ICS) into the Gas Organization. Recognized as a leader and subject matter expert in emergency management, Cecile was tasked with building the policies, procedures, and SOPS for a new Wildfire Safety Operations Center at the Utility, the first of its kind in the state. Cecile went on to assist in the development of a new Emergency Preparedness department in a new Emergency Preparedness and Response organization.

In 2022, Cecile retired from PG&E and now utilizes her 30+ years of experience in emergency management, best practices, and lessons learned, to help her clients create winning emergency management programs that enable communities, business, and individuals to be more prepared, safe, and resilient through all types of disasters.

Cece loves the outdoors, and has a penchant for the Southwest. When she is not involved in an emergency planning operation, you may find her visiting tribal lands in New Mexico with her husband where she enjoys the painted skies and vast landscapes of the desert.