Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro Announces Four Executive Appointments

Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro today appointed four senior executives to his administration: Terryl L. Brown as Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs; Edward M. Dolan as Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives and Policy; José Maldonado as Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor; and Robert F. Sweeney as Chief of Staff.

“The future of our great Department shines even brighter today with the addition of these extraordinarily skilled and experienced individuals who have devoted much of their working lives to public service, and who will now work closely with me to build an even stronger and better FDNY,” Commissioner Nigro said. “Terryl Brown, Ed Dolan, José Maldonado and Bob Sweeney, along with Bob Turner and Liz Cascio, will contribute individually and collectively to improving the Department for all who work for the FDNY - and for the 8 million New Yorkers who count on us every day to keep them safe.”

Terryl L. Brown, as Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs, will oversee the Department’s Bureau of Legal Affairs, Bureau of Investigations and Trials (BITS) and the Substance Testing Unit. She will provide legal and administrative advice to the Commissioner and his staff. 

Edward M. Dolan, as Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives and Policy, will oversee the Department’s strategic planning and policy initiatives, while monitoring and facilitating the progress of the agency’s strategic plans. He will lead an array of other high priority initiatives including the development of enhanced systems for tracking key performance indicators, and improving how the Department utilizes data in policymaking. 

José Maldonado, as Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor to the Commissioner, will assist and counsel the Commissioner on confidential and highly sensitive administrative issues, operational procedures and policies impacting all aspects of agency operations.

Robert F. Sweeney, as Chief of Staff, will oversee administrative and operational matters, and will serve as the Commissioner’s representative in various matters related to operations, policy development and strategy.

About Terryl L. Brown

Terryl R. Brown most recently was a partner with Harris Beach PLLC, representing clients in State courts, administrative proceedings and before state agencies, providing legal advice and counsel relating to compliance, oversight and reporting requirements; and providing ethics and compliance training. 

Prior to private practice, she served as Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer to Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman; Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the New York Power Authority; as Acting Counsel to Governor David Paterson and First Assistant Counsel to Governor Eliot Spitzer; and in various roles at the Attorney General’s Office Division of Public Advocacy under Eliot Spitzer and Division of State Counsel under Dennis Vacco. 

Brown graduated from Pace University with a B.A. in 1986 and earned a J.D./MBA from University of Pittsburgh in 1990.

About Edward M. Dolan

Edward M. Dolan is returning to FDNY as a Deputy Commissioner, a role he served in from 1994 to 1998. He recently was Director of Resilience Policy at the United States Department of Homeland Security Office of Public Policy where he was responsible for analyzing and recommending strategies to build and sustain national resilience against all hazards. During his previous tenure with FDNY, Dolan designed the plan for the merger of New York City’s emergency medical services into the Department. In 1995, he won FDNY’s George F. MandAward for his accomplishments. 

Previously, Dolan served as director of preparedness policy for the National Security Council Staff of the White House and in various preparedness-oriented roles at the United States Department of Homeland Security. 

Dolan graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in 1982 and earned an M.A. from Harvard University’s

Kennedy School in 1986.

About José Maldonado

José Maldonado will be assuming the newly created position of Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor to the Commissioner from his current role as FDNY’s first-ever Associate Commissioner for Compliance. In this capacity, Maldonado oversaw the Department’s ongoing and extensive effort to strengthen and enhance its

recruitment, diversity, and equal employment opportunity (EEO) programs. 

Previously, Maldonado served as the first-ever Chairman of the Business Integrity Committee, as Commissioner of the New York City Departments of Consumer Affairs and Juvenile Justice, as Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Justice Matters with the New York City Police Department, as Assistant District Attorney for the Office of Special Narcotics and for the New York County District Attorney’s Office, and as a Staff Law Clerk for the United States Court of Appeals. 

Maldonado graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in 1977 and earned a J.D. from New York Law School in 1980.

About Robert F. Sweeney

Robert F. Sweeney is returning to FDNY to assume the newly created position of Chief of Staff, having most recently served as Commissioner of the City of Yonkers Fire Department. In this capacity, Sweeney supervised uniformed and non-uniformed personnel providing emergency fire and medical response for the city of 200,000 residents. 

During his previous 33 years of service with FDNY, Sweeney rose to the rank of Chief of Operations – the second highest uniformed rank in the agency. After being appointed firefighter in 1979, he was initially assigned to Engine 69 in Harlem before transferring as a Lieutenant in 1988 to Engine 235 in Brooklyn. In 1993, he was appointed Captain, returning to Harlem with Engine 91, before being promoted to Battalion Chief serving with Battalion 8 in Midtown and then with Special Operations Battalion operating citywide. As Division Chief in 2000, Sweeney was assigned to Division 13 in Queens before becoming Deputy Assistant Chief and Queens Borough Commander in 2002. In 2006, he became the Assistant Chief of Operations and in 2009 was promoted to Chief of Operations, overseeing all fire operations, policies, standards, and procedures.