National Hurricane Center New Director=Bill Proenza

[cycloneye]

Bill Proenza

Here is the new director of NHC.

[JonathanBelles]

it's a 404 page.

[Frank2]

Opened for me...

[Coredesat]

There's a blurb on the NOAA homepage.

[JonathanBelles]

never seen him before.

[Frank2]

Just a bit of trivia here - this is the first time in the NHC's existence that the Agency went outside the NHC, HRD, or Miami WSFO, to select a replacement...

Frank

[JonathanBelles]

he's not even on wikipedia.

[Coredesat]

he's not even on wikipedia.

Neither is Stacy Stewart. He will be at some point.

[Regit]

he's not even on wikipedia.

Neither is Stacy Stewart. He will be at some point.

He can't be found because he's listed as X. William Proenza.

But his page was only created last night.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X._William_Proenza

[Jim Cantore]

Never heard of him, but he seems qualified.

[hurricanetrack]

Not the best photo!

[Aquawind]

He looks like a sleeper pick..


Let's hope he has some kick...

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

I was hoping for at least some one inside the nhc, like a forecaster. In really so for stacy Steward. Hopefully he will be able to be half as good as Max, we can all hope so.

[ALhurricane]

Having worked in the southern region of the NWS for 3 years I can say without hesitation that Bill Proenza will do an excellent job as NHC director. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Proenza on several occasions and he exhibits everything good about the science and public service.

Most may not be familiar with him now, but everybody soon will be. He will be an excellent director, IMHO.

[cycloneye]

He is bilingual as he speaks good spanish,so that will help a lot for the folks in CentralAmerica,Mexico,Caribbean and the hispanic communities in the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts understand better what is going on in that office.

[hurricanetrack]

Just a note, it's Stewart, not Steward.

[Frank2]

The photo posted on the NWS site isn't the best, but, his overall appearance and voice quality during yesterday's news conference was much better...

I never knew him when I was part of the NWS, but, he seems very professional (as did Max and the others), and, as mentioned, he is bilingual - something that will be very helpful, as will his background in Emergency Management...

This is from the NOAA press release:

Proenza started his career with the NOAA National Weather Service at its National Hurricane Center and with NOAA's hurricane hunters in the mid '60s and went on to serve in a number of field, headquarters and leadership capacities across the nation. He has been director of the NOAA National Weather Service Southern Region since 1998. The Florida State University graduate is a long-standing member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association, and has held appointments in both professional agencies. In 2001, the AMS recognized him with its prestigious Francis W. Reichelderfer Award for outstanding environmental services to the nation. In 2003, Proenza was elected as an AMS Fellow.

Frank

P.S. The good thing is that he has been around Florida for many years, so, he knows well the unique issues of the region. From his background, it sounds like his is more the administrator/meteorologist, than meteorologist, unlike Max, who was an operational meteorologist, or Dr. Bob Burpee, who was (is) a research meteorologist...

[Frank2]

Just a footnote to my previous post - since Mr. Proenza worked at the NHC in the mid '60s, that probably meant he worked under Director Dr. Robert Simpson at the NHC's old University of Miami Computer Building site - three NHC's ago...

That also possibly meant that he worked with Dr. Neil Frank and the late John Hope of NHC/TWC who were both at the UM NHC site in the mid-late '60s, so, good experience has he...

Frank

[george_r_1961]

My opinion on the Director role is pretty simple, if not realistic.

Get some one in there who knows the science inside and out. Forget the PR job, I think the Neil Frank model has to be a thing of the past, there is simply so much more information available now than there was back then. I think the Director should spend 99.9% of his or her time driving and improving forecasts. They should know research, operational meteorology, modeling, the whole deal, and apply it all of the time, instead of spending so much time at schools and preparedness meetings with local officals etc.

Hire somebody else who is an expert in public relations and communications and make them the voice of the center, and let the director do the dirty work behind the scenes, and maybe wheel him or her out when a threat exists.

MW

Personally when im under the gun from a hurricane id like to see the person responsible for tracking and forecasting the storm on TV rather than a spokesperson.

[Regit]

My opinion on the Director role is pretty simple, if not realistic.

Get some one in there who knows the science inside and out. Forget the PR job, I think the Neil Frank model has to be a thing of the past, there is simply so much more information available now than there was back then. I think the Director should spend 99.9% of his or her time driving and improving forecasts. They should know research, operational meteorology, modeling, the whole deal, and apply it all of the time, instead of spending so much time at schools and preparedness meetings with local officals etc.

Hire somebody else who is an expert in public relations and communications and make them the voice of the center, and let the director do the dirty work behind the scenes, and maybe wheel him or her out when a threat exists.

MW

Personally when im under the gun from a hurricane id like to see the person responsible for tracking and forecasting the storm on TV rather than a spokesperson.

Well, generally in government the head of an organization is hardly the most qualified individual at the agency. Usually the best secretaries/directors/administrators are those who understand things like budgeting and PR, but also know enough about the agency to find the most qualified individuals to whom they delegate.