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Special Presentation from Office of Emergency Management

Meet Julian Ochoa

Preparedness Manager for Vulnerable Communities

Julian Ochoa is OEM’s Emergency Preparedness Manager for Vulnerable Communities. In this role, Ochoa serves as a key collaborator, working with leaders in local healthcare, non-government and faith leaders, and emergency planners to advocate for those who often require more resources during all phases of an incident-preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.

Ochoa accepts this new role after working with OEM as a Community Engagement Coordinator updating the City’s plans for Comprehensive Emergency Management and Hazard Mitigation, as well as the Office’s DAFN Framework. Prior to his time with the City, Ochoa worked for Harris County, BakerRipley, and UNESCO United Nations Paris within the Legal Committee of Human Rights and Resilience Committee, U.N. United Nations Vienna, Department for Drugs and Crime Prevention (UNODC).

Hurricane Season begins on June 1st.

Our Special Guest
At-Large Position 1,
Council Member Julian Ramirez

Council Member Julian Ramirez was elected to office in December 2023 after a 34-year legal career. As an at-large council member he serves the entire city. He serves as chair of the Quality of Life Committee and Vice-Chair of the Public Service Delivery Committee. Julian brings extensive experience on criminal justice and public safety matters, having served as an Assistant District Attorney for Harris County from 1989 to 2016. While at the DA’s Office, he handled thousands of cases investigated by the Houston Police Department, tried hundreds of cases before judges and juries, and taught more than a thousand of our HPD officers at the HPD Academy on topics including search and seizure, procedure, and constitutional issues. He served as chief over the public corruption division and, later, the civil rights division.

Julian grew up in Houston’s shadow, in Rosenberg’s northside barrio. His grandparents were Mexican immigrants who helped build the railroads west of Houston and later sharecropped farmland in the Great Depression. Though his parents had only a grade-school education, their hard work and sacrifice laid the groundwork for their children’s success. Julian stocked shelves and waited on customers in the family’s small grocery store, learning the importance of hard work and serving the community.

LIFEGUARDS NEEDED

Pool season kicks off May 25 and will be open through September 1, 2024. Free of charge for Houstonians, our aquatic centers also offer water fitness programming and swimming lessons.

In order to open all 37 pools across our city, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department is in need of lifeguards. Interested candidates should apply here.