The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has promoted Wes Rapaport to chief of media and communications.
Rapaport most recently served as the agency’s section chief of media and communications. This is the second pivotal change in the agency’s communication team, following Assistant Agency Director Seth Christensen’s appointment as communications director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rapaport has been with TDEM since 2021, starting as a media and communications officer. In his new role, he will be responsible for coordinating the Texas State Emergency Operations Center’s joint information center and serving as the agency’s primary media contact point.
He has an extensive journalism career, covering nearly 13 years of private sector experience in newsrooms and media centers as a broadcaster, cameraman, reporter and producer.
Christensen was one of the agency’s first employees when TDEM transitioned to The Texas A&M University System in 2019. During his time at TDEM, he has served as both assistant agency director and chief of media, communications and preparedness. Before joining TDEM, he served as chief of staff for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and as the public safety and homeland security policy advisor adviser in the Office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
