Dee Harrison
Disaster Behavioral Health Services
Manager, HHSC

Dee is currently the Disaster Behavioral Health Services Manager with IDD and Behavioral Health Services at HHSC. She and her team prepare and monitor various FEMA disaster-related grants and coordinate the provision of behavioral health services to mitigate the adverse psychological impact of emergencies, incidents, and disasters on survivors and emergency responders.

Previously, she was the Senior Planner at the Texas Animal Health Commission where she was responsible for developing agency, local, state, and federal-level planning documents, guidance, instructions, and exercises. She served as the Planning Section Chief and Safety Officer during the Joint USDA/Texas Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program along the Texas-Mexico border. Before that, she was the Emergency Management Specialist at the Williamson County Office of Emergency Management, where she oversaw the development and revision of the County’s emergency management plans and coordinated the Emergency Management Performance Grant program. She was the Supervisor of the Homeland Security Policy and Plans Unit of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, where she was responsible for state- and local-level emergency planning, the Critical Infrastructure/Key Resources program. During that time, she served as the State Donations Management Coordinator and the State Voluntary Agency Liaison. Prior to her career in Emergency Management, she worked as a state Parole Officer and as a Probation Officer for Harris, Travis, and Williamson Counties. She was also a State Parole Officer, Warrant Officer, Internal Auditor, and the Manager of Curriculum Development for pre-and post-service training for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Dee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. She is a Certified Texas Emergency Manager (TEM©), a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®), a Master Continuity Practitioner (MCP), and holds a certification in Infrastructure Protection from the Texas Engineering and Extension Service of Texas A & M University. Dee is also a graduate of the FEMA Advanced Emergency Management Academy. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Emergency Management Association of Texas (EMAT) and on the Board of Directors.

Dee is originally from San Antonio, Texas and is a fan of the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Astros and is a Dr. Who fan and avid reader of Sci-Fi, murder mysteries, and trashy romance novels.