Michael (Mike) Sprayberry is a proven leader and emergency manager with a career in public service spanning over 42 years. Prior to joining Hagerty, Mike served the State of North Carolina for more than 15 years in various leadership roles within the state’s Division of Emergency Management; eight of which he served as the Division’s Director while also leading the state’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency and serving as the state’s Deputy Homeland Security Advisor.

Mike was appointed as the Director of North Carolina’s Division of Emergency Management (NCDEM) in February 2013 after serving as the Deputy Director and Operations Section Chief since 2006. Prior to that, he served as the Division’s Deputy Director and Logistics Section Chief.

During his tenure as Director, Mike successfully led the State Emergency Response Team’s response and recovery efforts for 19 state-declared disasters and 13 federally declared disasters, to include Hurricane Florence, now known as North Carolina’s “Storm of Record.” In just the last four years, Mike led North Carolina’s recovery efforts from major hurricanes, winter storms, earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. As Director, he also served as vice-chair of the state’s Emergency Response Commission and as a member of the state’s Radiation Protection Commission. Additionally, Mike was President of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) from 2017-2018. In this role, Mike advocated for federal policy changes that helped progress the field of emergency management, including supporting the passage of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018, which made pre-disaster mitigation a national priority and bolstered state and local emergency management capabilities.

Moreover, under Mike’s leadership, North Carolina became one of only fifteen states to achieve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan status, thereby granting the state access to millions of dollars in additional federal funding to build resiliency against future disasters and hazards. During his term, the state also achieved national reaccreditation for the emergency management program and increased the capacities of its Hazardous Materials Response program as well as its internationally renowned Search and Rescue program.

Before joining the state government, Mike honorably served in the United States Marine Corps and the North Carolina Army National Guard for more than 25 years.

Mike holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His achievements in emergency management and beyond have been well documented and include being the recipient of two departmental Secretary’s Gold Circle Awards, the North Carolina Emergency Management Association Colonel William A. Thompson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Emergency Management, the North Carolina Housing Coalition Public Official of the Year, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Friend of the Counties, the NEMA Presidential Citation, as well as the NEMA Lacey E. Suiter Distinguished Service Award. He is also a proud member of the North Carolina National Guard Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame.

Mike and his wife, Laura, have been married for over 30 years, reside in Raleigh, NC, and have two daughters, Alison and Megan.

Degrees

Master of Arts - University of North Carolina at Charlotte (MA)

Bachelor of Arts - University of North Carolina at Charlotte (BA)