CDA Hires Ag Emergency Coordinator for Disasters Impacting Rural Colorado

CDA Hires First-Ever Full-Time Ag Emergency Coordinator to
Lead Crisis Response Team for Disasters Impacting Rural Colorado

Broomfield, Colo. — The Colorado Department of Agriculture has hired Dan Frazen to serve as the Agriculture Emergency Coordinator for Colorado, a position CDA created this year after approval by the legislature to build out the Department’s emergency response capabilities. In this new position, Frazen will lead the Department’s response to all-hazards incidents that impact agricultural communities and coordinate with other government agencies and stakeholders for all phases of disaster management.

“With the addition of Dan to our team, CDA is expanding our capacity to support our ag communities in responding to emergencies, a focus of ours since day one,” said Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg. “Dan’s background in emergency management will support CDA’s goal of increasing resilience and preparedness to natural disasters and other emergencies in rural and ag areas of Colorado.”

This position will also act as the State Emergency Support Function (ESF) lead for agriculture and livestock at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) when activated for a state or regional disaster. It will also oversee agriculture emergency management, preparedness, and response activities and support agricultural emergencies statewide.

“I’m eager to start building out CDA’s department-wide, all-hazards emergency management program that better prepares staff and our agriculture communities for natural and human-caused disasters,” said Dan Frazen, CDA’s Agriculture Emergency Coordinator. “I’m especially looking forward to expanding the Agriculture Emergency Liaison Program in farming and ranching communities across Colorado, so members of our ag communities can serve as the subject matter experts and assist local and state emergency management professionals with preparedness, response, and recovery operations.”

The Agriculture Emergency Coordinator will be responsible for identifying department emergency management priorities and assisting with the development of plans to address concerns. This full time, dedicated position will serve on CDA’s multiple emergency planning teams and respond to myriad threats, including wildfire and drought, proactively strengthening Colorado’s agricultural resilience through coordination, mitigation and recovery efforts.

Dan Frazen is a Colorado Certified Emergency Manager (CO-CEM), Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI-CFI), and Incident Command System (ICS) instructor and has almost 30 years of public safety and emergency response experience. He began his emergency management career in the aftermath of the 2013 Colorado floods, developing plans and systems for Northern Colorado communities to better mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

In his previous position, Dan served as the Emergency Manager for the City of Greeley. He has been a member of the Type 3 Eastern Colorado Incident Management Team (ECIMT) since 2015, and he was assigned to the State of Oregon’s Type 2 Northwest Incident Management Team 6 for the Cameron Peak Fire in 2020. Dan continues to work in public safety as a part-time Deputy Sheriff for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Walden.

Dan graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and holds a Master of Science degree in Emergency Services Management from Columbia Southern University. He recently graduated from FEMA’s National Emergency Management Advanced Academy (NEMAA). He lives in Weld County with his wife and two children and enjoys family camping trips, swimming, and anything science related.