Martha Rainville

American politician

Martha T. Rainville (née Trim, born April 9, 1958) is a retired U. S. Air Force officer who attained the rank of major general. She was the first woman in U. S. history to become a state adjutant general when she served in that post with the Vermont National Guard. In 2006 she ran as the Republican candidate for Vermont's at large congressional district and was defeated by Democratic candidate Peter Welch. Rainville was later appointed to senior executive roles at FEMA, and then became Chief Operating Officer of Civil Support International LLC, a disaster preparedness and crisis response consulting firm.

Rainville was born in New London, Connecticut while her father was serving in the United States Navy, and she was raised in Mississippi after her father's retirement. She graduated from Chamberlain Hunt Academy in 1975, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Mississippi (1979).

Following graduation, she entered the United States Air Force, and was a 1979 Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Officer Basic Military Training Program at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. In most states the adjutant general is appointed by the governor; in Vermont the state legislature chooses.

In 2007, Rainville was appointed counselor to the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator and deputy administrator for Continuity Programs. Rainville was responsible for ensuring that FEMA performed its role as Lead Agent for Federal Executive Branch Continuity Programs and served until 2009. She was married to Norman Rainville, whom she met while both served in the Air Force; they had three children and divorced in 2003.