Kezia Wanner

Deputy Director, Portland Fire & Rescue, OR

Kezia Wanner

Kezia Wanner is a life-long public safety executive with more than two decades in municipal government management and leadership. Her areas of expertise are financial management, budget, resource allocation, staffing, analysis, logistics, and human resources. She is the Business Director for Portland Fire & Rescue, the largest fire agency in the state of Oregon. In this role, she is responsible for financial services, personnel, logistics, communications, technology, data analytics, strategic initiatives, policy, and legislative agenda. Additionally, Kezia was appointed by Sheriff Michael Reese as the Services Chief for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, the largest Sheriff’s Office in the state of Oregon, where she was responsible for finance, capital projects, communications, logistics, fleet, records, technology, data analytics, and other lines of business. Additionally, she has a strong background in law enforcement from her years of service with the Portland Police Bureau, during which she managed the budget, finance procurement, grants, alarms, and quartermaster programs, as well as the bureau’s strategic planning process. She has served as Assistant City Manager for the City of Newberg, Oregon, a role in which she oversaw and restructured the City’s administrative departments. Kezia also has a deep foundation of hands-on municipal budget management expertise from seven years as a budget analyst for the City of Portland.

Ms. Wanner holds a Master’s Degree is Public History (specializing in immigration history) and a Bachelor’s Degree in US History from California State University, Fullerton. She has been a staff member at Portland State University, where she was a project lead developing GIS resources for Portland Public Schools High School History Curriculum.