Christopher Gonyar

Christopher “Chris” Gonyar joined the Safety and Security team in May 2014 as the director of emergency management (formerly business continuity and emergency management planning). Prior to joining UNC Charlotte, he served as an emergency management consultant with Tetra Tech (formerly Beck Disaster Recovery, Science Applications International Corporation, Leidos). In this role, Gonyar worked with jurisdictions and organizations across the county on a variety of emergency management planning and exercise initiatives. During his time at Tetra Tech, he focused on continuity of operations, planning for functional needs populations, emergency management in higher education, and Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) compliant exercises and trainings. In 2019, Gonyar was awarded the Certified Emergency Manager designation from the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).

Gonyar graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2005 with double majors in history and political science and again in 2007 with a master’s in public administration. During his time as a student, he was actively involved in the North Carolina Student Legislature (NCSL), serving as the attorney general for the state, the UNC Charlotte Student Government Association (SGA), serving as the chief student counsel for two consecutive years, and was selected as the honorary bell ringer for the 2007 spring commencement.