David DiGregorio

David currently serves as principal for D2 Emergency Management Consulting, LLC and is faculty for the Beth Israel Deaconess/Harvard Medical School Disaster Medicine Fellowship. He contributes on the advisory board for First Line Technology.
David DiGregorio served as the director for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Hazardous Materials Emergency Response/Special Operations Division from September of 2016 through April of 2023 after holding the position of deputy director for two years. He retired from the US Army and Massachusetts Army National Guard after 32 years of service in 2014. Amongst his duty assignments, David served as a non-commissioned and commissioned officer with the 1st Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team in the positions of Medical NCO, Physician Assistant and Deputy Commander. Prior to retiring, he held the position of Deputy State Surgeon for the Massachusetts National Guard, earning the Legion of Merit Award, Meritorious Service Medal and several Army Commendation and Army Achievement Medals. He has earned a MS degree in Emergency Management from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy as well as a BS degree and MS degree in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He served on the faculty of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy as a capstone advisor for the graduate level Emergency Management course from January 2015-August 2021.
Presentations:
Prepared versus Ready: Why Organizations Fail When It Matters Most
Many agencies measure preparedness through plans, training, and exercises — yet real incidents often reveal a different problem: readiness. This presentation explores the gap between knowing what to do and actually executing under pressure during the first operational period of a complex incident. Using real-world observations from emergency response environments, participants will learn how recognition, authority, and execution failures occur — and how to train teams to overcome them.