Rebecca (Becky) F. Denlinger was appointed Deputy Minister of Emergency Management BC within the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on July 18, 2017.
Prior to this, Becky served as Deputy Minister Emergency Management within the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, effective July 30, 2015.
Becky also served as Deputy Minister with the Ministry of Community Sport and Cultural Development, effective June 10, 2013, where she brought together key government services and supports, boosting economic growth for B.C. communities.
Becky served as Assistant Deputy Minister/Fire and Emergency Management Commissioner responsible for Emergency Management BC, effective September 16, 2009, following her original appointment as Fire Commissioner of B.C. on February 23, 2008. Becky was a member of the Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management and the Canadian Council of Emergency Management Organisations, and was actively engaged in numerous international, national, provincial and regional emergency management and fire service committees.
Prior to joining the BC Public Service Becky was Fire Chief of the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services department in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area. Her career with Cobb County began in 1977 when she was hired as a Firefighter, culminating in her appointment as Fire Chief. She held the position of Fire Chief from 1997 until her retirement in January 2008. Becky served on numerous committees, boards, and councils during her tenure as chief, including the Georgia Homeland Security Task Force, the Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, the National Infrastructure Advisory Council to which she was appointed by President G.W. Bush, and the Board of Directors of the National Fire Protection Association.
In addition to activities as part of the Deputy Minister team in B.C., Becky is currently active on the Provincial/Territorial and Federal/Provincial Territorial Committees of Deputy Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management.
Becky attended Manchester College (North Manchester, Indiana), DeKalb College (Decatur, Georgia) and Thomas Edison State College (Trenton, New Jersey). She holds associate and bachelor degrees in Liberal Arts from Thomas Edison.
In 2009 Becky completed the Harvard Senior Executives in State and Local Government Fellowship Program. She also enjoys Chief Fire Officer Designation from the Institute for Public Safety Excellence and is a Member of the Institute of Fire Engineers.