Director of the Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response

Stephen M. Willoughby, MPA, ENP

Stephen M. Willoughby serves as the City of Richmond’s Director of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response and Citywide Emergency Management Coordinator. With more than 30 years of leadership experience in emergency communications, emergency management, and public safety, he oversees 911 operations, public safety technology, and emergency management.

His responsibilities include coordinating citywide preparedness and response efforts, advancing interagency collaboration, and supporting the continuity of essential public safety services. He works closely with city leadership and regional stakeholders to develop coordinated, effective, and resilient approaches to public safety.

Throughout his career, Willoughby has led complex organizations, major technology initiatives, and regional public safety partnerships. His accomplishments include, coordinating simulations elections across 36 communities to improve 911 technology and advancing innovative partnerships between law enforcement and clinical providers to improve behavioral health crisis response. Under his leadership, Richmond’s emergency communications organization earned national Public Safety Communications Accreditation in 2019 and achieved reaccreditation in 2023, reflecting its commitment to professional standards, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
 

Before joining the City of Richmond, Willoughby served for 16 years as the director of public safety with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments where he led regional homeland security collaboration and oversaw the regional 911 system, modernizing critical 911 infrastructure, and working with governing boards and elected officials across multiple jurisdictions. Earlier in his career, he contributed to emergency operations during the response to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Willoughby is committed to strengthening community resilience through proactive planning, effective governance, and collaboration across organizational and jurisdictional boundaries. He emphasizes integrating preparedness into everyday operations, learning from real-world incidents, and translating those lessons into practical improvements in coordination, response capabilities, and recovery. His leadership contributed to Richmond’s recognition by USA Today as the nation’s most climate-resilient city in 2024.

A Certified Emergency Number Professional (ENP), Willoughby has served on committees with the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), including as chair of APCO’s Homeland Security Committee. He holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Willoughby’s leadership is grounded in the belief that effective public safety depends on dedicated professionals, trusted partnerships, reliable technology, and a sustained commitment to serving the community. Through his work, he continues to advance a coordinated, forward-looking approach to emergency communications, preparedness, response, and community resilience in the City of Richmond.

Deputy Director of Operations

Tory Maye

Tory Maye began his tenure with the City of Richmond as a communications officer in March 2004. He was promoted to the rank of assistant communications officer supervisor in September 2007, and he became the department’s first quality assurance supervisor in March 2012. He also has served as an assistant training supervisor, background investigator, co-accreditation manager, and a Department of Criminal Justice Services certified instructor.

He became deputy director in April 2015 and earned certification as an Emergency Number Professional in November 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business information systems and a Master of Business Administration degree.

Deputy Director of Technology

Jackie L. Crotts

Jackie L. Crotts came to the City of Richmond in 2007 as emergency communications system administrator under the Richmond Police Department. In 2015, he was promoted to deputy director of the technology division for the Department of Emergency Communications, which separated from the Richmond Police Department in 2014. He is responsible for providing critical systems support for Virginia’s second-busiest emergency communications center including public safety technology and communications.

Growing up in the small town of Cana, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, he started his public safety career as a volunteer firefighter at a very young age. He is a certified Emergency Number Professional, Emergency Medical Dispatcher and FireFighter II. He has served on various regional committees and is currently the vice president of the Hexagon user group.

Before coming to Richmond, Crotts served as a systems administrator and a communications officer for Forsyth County Fire Department in Winston Salem, North Carolina, for 11 years.