About

Josh leads emergency management and business continuity efforts at UIC, developing risk-informed plans that protect people, data, and infrastructure while enabling effective response to incidents of all scales. His work integrates preparedness, mitigation, and crisis coordination into structured, campus-wide systems.

Previously, Josh served with the Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management where he held key leadership roles in the Emergency Operations Center and managed major grant programs supporting continuity, wildfire mitigation, and evacuation planning. He also strengthened partnerships across government, tribal, volunteer, and private-sector organizations.

At the Arizona Department of Health Services, Josh designed and implemented statewide training and exercises aligned with federal standards, contributing to numerous emergency plans and supporting the Health Emergency Operations Center.

He began his career at Walgreens advancing business continuity and risk reduction initiatives for southwest regional preparedness efforts.

Josh is a certified Professional Continuity Practitioner and FEMA Professional Development Series graduate.

Michael Belmonte is a nationally respected emergency management professional and 33-year fire service veteran known for his command leadership, operational expertise, and dedication to building resilient organizations. With a career that bridges the fire service, higher education, and federal operations, Michael has become one of Illinois’ most experienced voices in emergency preparedness, training, and incident management.

He currently serves as an Emergency Manager - Training and Exercise at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Office of Preparedness and Response, where he designs and leads complex, HSEEP-compliant training programs and full-scale exercises that prepare the university’s academic, healthcare, and operational divisions to respond as one. His leadership ensures UIC maintains full alignment with FEMA, IEMA-OHS, and Homeland Security standards across all mission areas, prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.

As a former Lieutenant with the Lake Bluff Fire Department and a longtime member of Great Lakes Emergency Management and the Great Lakes Fire Department, Michael has led both frontline operations and strategic planning initiatives for over three decades. During his tenure with the U.S. Navy at Naval Station Great Lakes, he served as Team Lead for the Installation’s Type II Incident Management Team (IMT) and played a pivotal role in creating and training the Navy’s first credentialed Type II All-Hazards IMT,a groundbreaking effort that set the national standard for military installation preparedness. His combined roles in anti-terrorism, force protection, and emergency management positioned him as a key link between military, local, and state response partners. His work earned him multiple honors, including Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Fire Inspector of the Year (2021) and the Civilian Service Achievement Medal (2020).

Michael is one of the founding members and former president of the Illinois Professional Emergency Management Association (IPEMA), where he helped establish one of Illinois’ first credentialed Type II Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMAT) recognized as a State Mobile Support Team. He also served as a Regional Vice President for the Illinois Emergency Services Management Association (IESMA), strengthening the professional development and collaboration of emergency managers statewide.

Over the course of his career, Michael has been deployed to more than 18 state and local disasters and seven presidentially declared incidents, serving in key leadership roles such as Incident Commander, Deputy Incident Commander, Planning and Operations Section Chief during major events including COVDI, the Illinois Asylum Seeker Response, the Mississippi Flood, and Hurricane Milton.

A FEMA Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP), one of only 2,250 in the nation, Michael also holds credentials as a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and Illinois Professional Emergency Manager (IPEM). As a certified ICS, NIMS, and HSEEP Instructor, he continues to mentor and train future leaders in emergency management and public safety operations nationwide.

Command-driven, experienced, and mission-focused, Michael Belmonte stands as a leader who builds capability, inspires confidence, and ensures that preparedness is more than a plan, it’s a culture.