The head of Portland’s emergency management bureau is on administrative leave.

Shad Ahmed has led the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management for nearly four years.

Deputy City Administrator Bob Cozzie informed PBEM staff of Ahmed’s leave on Friday.

“I recognize this news creates uncertainty during what is already a challenging time,” wrote Cozzie, who oversees PBEM as the administrator in charge of the city’s public safety bureaus.

It’s not immediately clear why the city placed Ahmed on leave.

Ahmed is the third bureau director to be placed on leave under Mayor Keith Wilson since the city changed its form of government a year ago. Under that structure, the newly created city administrator’s office manages bureau personnel, with guidance from the mayor.

PBEM oversees the city’s response to a variety of potential emergencies, ranging from ​​pandemics to earthquakes to protests that turn violent. As its director, Ahmed has navigated challenging budget cuts at both the local and federal levels.

Ahmed did not respond to OPB’s request for comment.

According to a city spokesperson, Ahmed is receiving his regular pay while on leave. His annual salary is $229,424.

In the past, when city leaders were placed “on leave,” it meant they’d been given the option to either resign or be fired.

That was the case in 2024, when former Water Bureau director Gabe Solmer was told by city managers that she was being fired without cause.

She was given 21 days of paid leave to decide whether she wanted to accept the firing or to resign voluntarily, an option that came with six months’ severance. She chose to resign.

Last year, then-director of Portland Parks & Recreation Adena Long was put on administrative leave. Less than a month later, the city announced that Long had resigned.

It’s not clear if she was given the same options as Solmer. And last October, the city placed former Housing Bureau Director Helmi Hisserich on paid leave. She chose to resign voluntarily the following month.

The city has never disclosed the reasons why Solmer, Long and Hisserich were initially placed on leave.

According to Cozzie, Ahmed’s position will be filled by Elisabeth Perez in an interim role.

Perez currently works under Cozzie as enterprise services director for the city’s Public Safety Service Area, but has held a variety of roles at the city since 2018.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/20/portland-emergency-management-director-placed-on-leave/