Curtis Sommerhoff began his career with Miami-Dade County in 1989 with the Water & Sewer Department (WASD) where he served for 12 years addressing water and wastewater emergencies for the department from its 24-hour Communications Center.  Mr. Sommerhoff served as the WASD representative in the County's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) from 1996 to 2001, co-chaired the department's Hurricane Committee and conducted department disaster drills and exercises.  In 2001, he was awarded the Employee Suggestion Program Manager's Grand Award for innovative suggestion: "Hurricane Preparedness Training for Employees."

Mr. Sommerhoff went on to join the Office of Emergency Management in April 2001 as an Emergency Management Coordinator, and was responsible for the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program.  Later that year, he was charged with overseeing the department's Planning & Preparedness Bureau comprised of the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, Training & Exercise, Hazardous Materials Response/Evacuation, and Health & Medical Programs. 

Mr. Sommerhoff's EOC responsibilities and experience included Public Safety Branch Director and Operations Section Chief for eight (8) Presidentially Declared and/or Major Disaster Declarations which include: Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Jeanne, Katrina, Wilma and Tropical Storms Ernesto, Rita and Fay.

Mr. Sommerhoff left County service in 2006 to be the Emergency Manager for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.  Charged with developing a professional emergency management program for the Tribe, his planning initiatives included the development of a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, Hazard Mitigation Plan and Public Assistance Plan.  These plans and the development of an emergency management framework helped the Seminoles strengthen its position with the Federal government and make the Tribe less dependent on the State of Florida for public assistance.

Prior to rejoining Miami-Dade County Department of Emergency Management & Homeland Security (DEM&HS) in June 2008, Sommerhoff worked at the Miami-Dade County Government Information Center as the 311 Answer Center Manager.  As such he oversaw the implementation of Work Force Management, call recording and Reverse 311 systems and the Customer Service Request (CSR) system upgrades.

Mr. Sommerhoff is a Florida Professional Emergency Manager and has completed the FEMA Emergency Management Institute's Professional Development Series for emergency managers. He graduated from Barry University with a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, and served in the United States Marine Corps during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991.