Mayor Gainey nominates Pittsburgh public safety director

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday announced that he has nominated Lee Schmidt as director of public safety.

In that role, Schmidt will oversee all public safety bureaus, including police, fire, emergency medical services and animal care and control, as well as the Offices of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Community Affairs, Special Events and Nighttime Economy.

Schmidt was named the acting director after former Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich was told he would not be part of Gainey’s administration. Lee had previously served as assistant director of operations and administration for the department.

“Lee Schmidt brings a tremendous range of experience across decades of public service, as well as deep commitment to creating greater safety, accountability and equity to our Department of Public Safety,” Gainey said. “From our earliest conversations to the most recent collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, I’ve been impressed with Lee’s competence, compassion and the respect he commands from the people he works with.”

Gainey said he was proud to nominate someone with background as a paramedic.

Schmidt began working for the city in January 2017 as a civilian business administrator with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. He was later promoted to assistant director of operations and administration for the Department of Public Safety in March 2020.

Before working with the city, he began his career with West Deer EMS in 1996 as a volunteer EMT before becoming a full-time paramedic and crew chief. He was eventually named the director and chief of the agency.

Schmidt, who lives in the city’s North Side, holds multiple public safety and emergency management certifications and has completed various training programs at the county and state level. He holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration with a concentration in public safety and emergency services from Point Park University, as well as an associate degree in CIT/IT support and network administration.