Director, Office of Emergency Management
City of Springfield
Director Woods began his career with the O?ce of Emergency Management during the spring of 2000. He was promoted to Deputy Director in 2002 and was elevated to department Director in August of 2017.
Mr. Larry Woods serves as the Director of the Spring?eld-Greene County O?ce of Emergency Management (OEM) in Missouri, where he leads a comprehensive, whole-community approach to emergency management. In this role, he and his team maintain year-round capabilities to coordinate, support, and manage operations across the full spectrum of emergency management — including prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery — to protect and assist the public before, during, and after disasters.
With over 39 years of public safety experience, Mr. Woods brings a diverse background to the role, having served as a licensed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), commissioned law enforcement officer, firefighter, and emergency dispatcher.
He holds the Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) credential through the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and studied Emergency and Disaster Management at American Public University.
Mr. Woods is actively involved in regional coordination and response. He serves as a Planning Section Chief on the Southwest Missouri Incident Support Team (IST) and is an engaged member of the Southwest Missouri Emergency Support Organization. He also represents the region as a Board Member of the Missouri Emergency Management Association, where he chairs the Legislative Affairs Committee.
At the state and federal levels, Mr. Woods serves as a Planning Section Chief for Missouri-1 DMAT/DMORT, a team tasked with medical and mortuary response operations throughout Missouri. Previously, he spent 12 years as a Planning Section Chief Mentor with Incident Management Team–Blue under the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) — one of only three federal teams in the nation designated to manage public health disaster response on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In addition to his operational roles, Mr. Woods has served as an Adjunct Instructor in Emergency Management at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Missouri, helping train and inspire the next generation of emergency management professionals.
He and his wife Natalie, married for 33 years, reside in Springfield, Missouri, and are proud parents of three children.