Garnell Whitfield
Buffalo Community Leader
2022
As a life-long resident of Buffalo, NY, Garnell Whitfield is one of four children of the late Mrs. Ruth E. Whitfield and Garnell W. Whitfield Sr. who were married for 68 years before her untimely passing on May 14, 2022. His wife Cassietta and he have four children, Jamarr, Tiffany, Kamilah and Garnell lll; nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren. They celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary on June 30th.
A thirty-four year veteran of the Buffalo Fire Department, he served as Chief Fire Administrator; Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Personnel; Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Medical Services and for the last 7 ½ years of his career, as Commissioner of Fire/Emergency Management, retiring June 30, 2017.
In September of 2017, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Homeland Security for the State of New York by then Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, tasked with overseeing the 14 counties of Western New York and the Finger Lakes. Wanting to spend more time with his family, Whitfield left that position in September of 2019 and is presently retired.
My network of professionals working on countering hate in all its forms grew exponentially after attending Eradicate Hate in 2021. The myriad voices represented at Eradicate Hate, from big tech companies to academic researchers to those with lived experience, reinforced to me the importance of cross-cutting and collaborative approaches to counter hate and its devastating impacts on society. I’ve been fortunate to sustain and build those networks with many of those I met at Eradicate Hate in 2021.
