George DeTella
George DeTella is a twenty-five year criminal justice veteran and is currently serving in his third year as the Chief of the Office of Risk and Emergency Management at the DuPage County Health Department in Wheaton, Illinois. He is responsible for the planning, coordination, and training of plans and programs for emergencies/disasters within the County.
While leading the Office of Risk and Emergency Management at the DuPage County Health Department Chief DeTella has led the development and implementation of the: National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System (NIMS/ICS); the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP); multi-year exercise and training program; Pandemic Influenza Planning and Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) Planning for a County with a population of over 900,000. The Technical Assistance Review (TAR) performed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2008 scored the preparedness level of the DuPage County SNS Plan at 92% and in 2009 was recognized with a score of 100% - one of the highest scores in the Nation. He also succesfully coordinated the Disaster Relief Center Operations and Public Health Emergencies for DuPage County during a presidential declared disaters and maintains requisite NIMS and HSEEP certifications.
He continues to serve as a managing partner of GDP Group Consulting LLC, specializing in executive management and criminal justice consultancy. He has provided consultancy services in the areas of capital litigation, facility operations, administrative policy and security matters for both private and public sector entities. Mr. DeTella is certified as an expert witness for matters in both the Illinois State and Federal court systems.
Prior to his current position, he retired as the Associate Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. As the Associate Director he managed a budget in excess of a billion dollars and a staff of over fifteen thousand employees.
He supervised and directed the Adult and Juvenile Institutions, Adult and Juvenile Parole, Investigations, Intelligence, Special Operations Units as well as the Administrative Service Division. Mr. DeTella previously served as the Deputy Director Adult Division, Stateville Penitentiary Warden, Danville Correctional Center Warden, Logan Correctional Center Assistant Warden and the Executive Assistant Juvenile Division.
During his tenure with the Illinois Department of Corrections he was appointed to the position of transition coordinator and responsible for the development and oversight of an agency wide reorganization. The transition involved the restructuring of agency operations encompassing fifteen thousand staff and nearly eighty thousand inmates. One of the most significant tasks was the comprehensive review, development and implementation of the policies, labor negotiations and associated training that was required to realize the successful transition.
Mr. DeTella directed projects including the creation and implementation of a nationally recognized intelligence system, and commanded field operations such as 'Windy City' a collaborative effort with the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County states Attorney office while associated with the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Mr. DeTella currently serves as a board member for the Illinois Public Safety Center and Museum, DuPage County Emergency Telephone and Systems Board and has served as the past president of the Illinois Correctional Association, Vermillion County Boys and Girls Club, Vermillion County Crime Stopper Organization. He was a founding member of the Illinois Correctional Employee Memorial and has served as the Vice - Chairman of the American Correctional Association Correctional Intelligence Committee.
