Wes Edwards is Deputy Executive Director over the Mississippi Emergency Communications Authority (MECA), which is housed inside of MEMA. Wes has been with MEMA since 2020, serving as Deputy Administrator in the Office of Information Technology (IT). Inside of this role Wes was charged with assisting in leading multiple projects supporting the Agency’s mission to safeguard Mississippi and its citizens by developing, training, and implementing systems and software utilized by counties and municipalities across the State. Wes has also served as technical liaison to both FEMA and the Governor’s Office as assigned by the Agency before, during, and after events.
Beginning in the Office of Information Technology in 2020 as a Business Systems Analyst Wes worked on multiple Agency projects supporting all offices in some form or another, managing Agency systems, and interacting with all 82 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) in the implementation and education of those systems. Wes was promoted to Business Systems Director, and then Deputy Administrator, managing multiple key technological projects along the way. Some of these projects include assisting in implementing COVID-19 testing site infrastructures, web development assistance for testing registration on the Statewide COVID-19 testing site, and the deployment and training of the Agency’s damage assessment software Crisis Track to all 82 counties and the MBCI.
Wes served as a Public Health Officer in the United States Air Force. Prior to coming to MEMA, Wes worked for the Mississippi Division of Medicaid in the Office of Policy as well as in the Office of Program Integrity.
Wes has an Associate Degree in Pre-Nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Jackson State University, a Master of Public Health from the University of Southern Mississippi, multiple IT industry specific certifications and will soon finish a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Wes has two daughters, Aspen and Hollis, and four dogs Freeman, Hardy, Wilson, and Linda.
