Author Biographies
Christopher J. Ainsworth, MBA, CEM®
chris@raemec.com.au
Christopher Ainsworth is an EM professional, practitioner and educator of 24 years, and gained a Fulbright Scholarship in 2008 (Vocational Education and Training) focusing on Emergency Management. He is a leading practitioner developing and delivering professional practice. Between 2020- 2024 he has consulted on several projects including enhanced and new accredited training qualification development and international benchmarking, government submissions and works toward the establishment of a body that will recognise Disaster and Emergency Management as an endorsed profession. Christopher is a strong advocate for scaffolded professional development and an integrated approach to learning pathways, encompassing a seamless PD environment inclusive of vocational practice through to the completion of Doctoral studies in Emergency Management. Chris is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) and Certification Commissioner with a second term extending to 2026. Chris serves as a Certification Commission Vice Chair in 2024.
Marc Anthonisen, MPA
Advisor, Climate Smart Communities Task Force
Town of New Lebanon NY
mja45@cornell.edu
After working in the financial sector in Asia for two decades, Marc Anthonisen has made climate change his second career. Marc recently pursued an MPA in Environmental Policy from the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy, focusing on climate resilience planning. As part of that degree, he started working with the town of New Lebanon NY, which has become a recognized leader in climate adaptation, achieving Silver Certification in New York State’s Climate Smart Communities Program in 2024. Marc continues to support New Lebanon’s climate initiatives, in particular by helping to coordinate projects with Cornell students. He has also recently taught Environmental Policy at Ithaca College and is now working on climate change in Taiwan.
Cihan Aydiner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Program Director of Homeland Security
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide
aydinerc@erau.edu
Dr. Cihan Aydiner is an Assistant Professor and Program Director of Homeland Security at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide (ERAU-W). He has held prior academic and professional roles at Louisiana State University, Hybridcore (an AI-Powered Decision-Making Company), and the Army. Dr. Aydiner earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in Sociology from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in National and International Security Management from the Army War College. He has numerous funded grant projects, publications, documentary films, and technical reports to his credit. Dr. Aydiner’s current research focuses on the complex interdependencies among policy, homeland security, and international migration.
Josh Ayers
Executive Director
Resilience Innovation Group, LLC
jayers@resilienceinnovationgroup.com
Josh Ayers is a seasoned researcher and humanitarian aid and sustainable development practitioner with nearly 20 years of experience across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. Ayers earned his undergraduate degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his graduate degree from the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England. He has directed disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience, and climate change adaptation (CCA) programs and global departments in large international NGOs; most recently Food for the Hungry (FH). Ayers is currently completing a PhD in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of City and Regional Planning focused on climate adaptation of informal settlements in urban contexts of the Global South. He is also Executive Director of Resilience Innovation Group, LLC, a consulting firm focused on helping international NGOs and local civil society organizations with strategy planning and strengthening the technical aspects of their DRR, resilience, CCA, and humanitarian programs. He is author and co-author of several publications and books, including most recentlyPeople and Nature on the Move: Addressing Environmental Change at the Conservation-Migration Interface(IUCN CEESP, July 2024),Creating Shared Resilience: The Role of the Church in a Hopeful Future(Langham Publishing, 2020), and “A Review of Hazard Resilience Policies in the United States” (currently under review with a major academic journal).
Ozzie Baron
Co-Founder | Deputy Director
Project Camp
ozzie@projectamp.co
With background and experience in the world of tech startups, Ozzie is passionate about making organizations as effective and efficient as possible. Project:Camp allows Ozzie to indulge in his love of summer camp and help bring enriching experiences to children impacted by natural disasters. At Project:Camp, Ozzie oversees our Camps program and focuses on organizational strategy and operations, making sure our vision is clear and everyone in the organization is working towards that vision.
Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA
Senior Lecturer, Brooks School of Public Policy
Cornell University
rebecca.brenner@cornell.edu
Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA, is a Senior Lecturer in the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University and teaches courses on environmental policy, vulnerability and resilience, environmental justice, ethics, and project management. Rebecca is also a Senior Faculty Fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, a Faculty Fellow in the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, and a Faculty Associate in the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. Rebecca is co-lead for Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Higher Education Experiential Learning and Leadership Special Interest Group. Rebecca’s research focuses on translating values into practice and policy and reducing vulnerability to build resilience to shifting climate systems. To do this, Rebecca collaborates with community partners to develop innovative and actionable policy approaches to managed retreat and equity, environmental justice, bridging policy with science, and building disaster resilience and adaptive capacity. She is an author and editor of the book Service-Learning for Disaster Resilience: Partnerships for Social Good (Routledge), and author on several publications focusing on resilience, adaptive capacity, and equity. She is on the board of the Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education and Clean International. Rebecca is the recipient of the 2024 Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship, 2018 Cornell Town-Gown Award, and 2018 International Women’s Leadership Award.
Laura J. Brown, PhD
Lecturer, Geography, Environment, and Geomatics Department
University of Guelph
laura@uoguelph.ca
Laura J. Brown, PhD, is a physical geographer and lecturer who regularly teaches undergraduate courses on Climate and Natural Hazards, Climate Change, Physical Geography, Biogeography, and Data Analysis. She is the primary author of an Open Educational Resources (OER) textbook on Canadian Physical Geography Perspectives on Natural Hazards, Climate Variability and Change. In her most recent research, she modelled future extreme weather events for risk assessment and flood mitigation studies. She was the co-recipient of the 2022 Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award for her contribution to a nationwide project working with Canadian First Nations on-reserve residents vulnerable to the threat of flooding due to climate change.
Rita V. Burke, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor
University of Southern California
Rita.burke@med.use.edu
Rita V. Burke, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Clinical Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. She has a joint appointment in the Department of Pediatrics. She has over 70 peer-reviewed publications, over 50 abstracts and book chapters. She currently serves on the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters established to advise the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the medical and public health needs of children in disasters. She is the former co-chair of the Research Committee for the Pediatric Trauma Society and current co-chair of the Los Angeles Children in Disasters Working Group. She currently serves as the Board of Advisors of chair of Project: Camp. She is the recipient of the 2021 Impact Makers to Watch, 2021 USC Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students Awards and multiple teaching awards. She received her master’s in public health and doctorate in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Kent Cawley, DBA
Managing Member, Cawley Group, LLC
kent@cawleygroup.com
Dr. Kent Cawley has over 20 years of experience serving the emergency management community. He is the Managing Member of Cawley Group, LLC, and a Strategic Solutions Consultant for Veoci. Dr. Cawley holds advanced degrees in Technology and Homeland Security. He has been a trusted advisor on crisis information management for private corporations and public agencies at all levels of government for the majority of his career. Notable experiences include serving as the Solution Architect for information management processes in San Francisco’s emergency operations center during Super Bowl 50, along with providing onsite support and consultation for organizations such as the Miami-Dade County Department of Emergency Management, Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, and the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management during large-scale events. Dr Cawley is twice published on topics related to crisis information management software. Distinguished accolades include individual recognition of the support he provided to the City of Houston during Hurricane Harvey.
Oenone Chadburn, MA (Econ)
International Aid Consultant
oenone.chadburn@googlemail.com
Oenone Chadburn has recently completed a 19 year tenure with Tearfund, with the final position as Head of Humanitarian and Resilience. Prior career roles include: International Programme Lead for Global DRR Programme; Country Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan; Post Conflict Transition Advisor for UNDP in conflict-affected areas of Sri Lanka. Oenone has been Chair of Global Network for Disaster Reduction, Board Trustee for Start Network, and is currently on the Governance Committee for Start Ready. A clear advocate for locally led disaster risk management and the role of local organizations in humanitarian response, Oenone has commissioned several prominent research / resource pieces including Characteristics of a Disaster-Resilient Community (Twigg 2007), and co-led on the “Missed Opportunities” series of 4 papers which were the forerunner to Charter4Change. She has also commissioned and written pieces on Community Based Cost Benefit Analysis. Specialist areas include: localization, capacity sharing; anticipatory action; humanitarian aid system; disaster risk financing; resilience and disaster risk reduction (DRR); climate change adaptation (CCA); international frameworks and aid policy; crisis and conflict transformation; church and community mobilization; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); food security; livelihood development; partnership and relationship management; inclusiveness and accountability. Expert in senior humanitarian coordination; organizational strategies development; local partnerships and funding consortia; civil society mobilization; facilitation of local and national government planning; community empowerment, vulnerability and capacity analysis; and development of new networks and alliances.
Ray Hsienho Chang, Ph.D.
Program Chair and Associate Professor of Disaster Management
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide
Changr2@erau.edu
Dr. Ray Chang is an associate professor and program chair of the Master of Science in Emergency Services in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide Campus. Before he pursued his doctoral degree, Dr. Chang was in charge of developing emergency response plans for the long tunnels, high-rise buildings, and subway stations in a Taiwanese fire department. He has a Ph.D. in Disaster Science and Management from University of Delaware. He has published several papers relevant to disaster preparedness, disaster response, and fire service administration in esteemed peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Chang serves as a principal member in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600 (Standards on Continuity, Emergency, and Crisis Management) Technical Committee, and a member of the Future Vision Committee in the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI). Besides his academic works, Dr. Chang also helps several governmental agencies and private sectors to build their capabilities on disaster response and preparedness. To recognize his contributions in the field of Emergency Management, he was selected as the winner of 2023 FEMA Higher Education Program Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award.
Terry D. Cooper, DHSc, MS, MPH, CEM®
Adjunct Professor, Department of Population Health and Leadership
University of New Haven
tcooper@newhaven.edu
Terry D. Cooper is an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven, where he teaches Healthcare Leadership, Foundations of Public Health, Global Health, and Public Health Emergency Preparedness. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Science from the University of Florida, master’s degrees in Emergency Management and Public Health, and a Doctor of Health Sciences in Educational Leadership from the University of New Haven. With over 19 years of experience in public health, forensic mental health, and emergency management, Dr. Cooper has research interests related to interprofessional education, curriculum development, and the intersection of public health and emergency management. He is a graduate of the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy, a Certified Emergency Manager, a Master Exercise Practitioner, and a William Averette Anderson Fund (BAF) Fellow.
Tanya Buhler Corbin, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Professor of Disaster Management
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide
Corbint2@erau.edu
Tanya Buhler Corbin is the chair for the Department of Emergency, Disaster, and Global Security Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science, M.A. in Public Policy, and B.A. in Sociology. Dr. Corbin has worked in the legal, non-profit, and business fields. Her research agenda is broadly focused on disaster management and the policy processes and outcomes related to disasters; her research has been featured in policy reports (NAACP) and cited in congressional testimony. She collaborates with community organizations, governmental, and industry partners to co-create knowledge with applied value for disaster management, informing public policy, and supporting practitioners through research and academic program development. Past research projects include congressional agenda-setting, policy change, and disaster recovery after Hurricane Katrina, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in higher education, and community partnerships in disaster management. Current and recent research includes policy change and policy learning after major hurricanes, and COVID-19 policies and politics.
Annette Chretien, PhD
Contract Teaching Faculty, Wilfrid Laurier University
achretien@wlu.ca
Annette Chretien is a contract faculty member in the Indigenous Studies and Youth and Children’s Studies programs at Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada. She has a PhD in ethnomusicology, focused on Metis cultural practices. As an Indigenous woman, she manages the respectful inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge in project research and guides research teams regarding the customs and protocols of working with Indigenous persons and ensuring that the final deliverables adhere to Indigenous traditions and ways of knowing. Chretien has been working with Indigenous communities for 30 years as a researcher, consultant and advocate for Indigenous issues including international Indigenous rights. She has worked extensively on multiple emergency management-related projects including the Aboriginal Disaster Resilience Project and work for Indigenous Services Canada. She has also consulted on many Indigenous issues such as nuclear waste management, climate change, Indigenous flood insurance and Indigenous education (Ontario Ministry of Education). She is the co-recipient of Public Safety Canada’s Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award – Resilient Communities.
Zawad Ibn Farid
Lecturer, Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
zawad@du.ac.bd
Zawad Ibn Farid is a Lecturer at the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies (IDMVS), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests span Disaster Response & Recovery, Disability and Disaster, Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable Livelihoods, Gender & Intersectionality, Disability Inclusive Development, Inclusive Education, Sustainable Agriculture, and IDP & Migration. Zawad has led and co-led multidisciplinary research projects incorporating local perspectives and conditions, and has collaborated with organizations such as Oxfam GB, IFRC, European Union, World Bank, UNDP, British Red Cross, BDRCS, Canadian Red Cross, European Commission, LEGO foundation, PRIMARK, VSO, PAL Network, FHI 360, SIDA, different Government bodies of Bangladesh etc. Zawad has published research articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals and books. He was awarded the President’s Gold Medal Award for Academic Excellence at the University of Dhaka’s 52nd convocation.
Shirley Feldmann-Jensen, DPPD, MPH, RN, PHN
Lecturer & MS Program Coordinator Emergency Services Administration\
School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, & Emergency Management
California State University Long Beach
shirley.jensen@csulb.edu
Dr. Shirley Feldmann-Jensen has policy expertise at the intersection of disaster risk management, public health, and human outcomes. Her experience is both international and domestic, spanning a variety of public health, disaster risk management, and instructional settings. She teaches emergency services administration at California State University Long Beach. Shirley’s Doctoral degree was earned in Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California, Sol Price School of Public Policy. She also earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) from California State University Long Beach, and a graduate certificate from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Health Emergencies in Large Populations. Dr. Feldmann-Jensen has co-authored both the Next Generation Core Competencies for Emergency Management Professionals and The Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct for Emergency Management Professionals. A recent publication was in Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education, v17, #10. She was the lead book editor and contributor of Case Studies in Disaster Response (Elsevier). Shirley is the recipient of the inaugural Scholarship of Teaching and Learning award, and both the 2012 and 2018 CSULB College of Health and Human Services Community Service Award.
Marcelo M. Ferreira, PhD, CEM®
Assistant Professor
Arkansas State University
mferreira@astate.edu
Marcelo M. Ferreira is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Management at Arkansas State University. Ferreira holds a Doctor of Philosophy in emergency management, a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) credential, and a Project Management Professional (PMP) credential. He has over 15 years of experience as a practitioner of emergency management for local government, critical infrastructure, and nonprofits; having supported the response and recovery to five Major Presidential Disaster Declarations in the United States and numerous local and state-level emergencies. Professor Ferreira’s areas of expertise include the management, leadership, and organization of emergency management programs, community preparedness, and international disasters. Marcelo Ferreira was the recipient of the IAEM 40 Under 40 Award (2024).
Logan Gerber-Chavez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Disaster Science
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide
Logan.GerberChavez@erau.edu
Dr. Logan Gerber-Chavez is an emergency management planning expert specializing in compound hazard planning and work on climate justice and environmental justice in emergency management. She holds a Ph.D. in disaster science and management from the University of Delaware’s Biden School of Public Policy and Administration and M.S. and B.S. degrees in geography from the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University, respectively. She has worked as an advisor to the U.S. Geological Survey on emergency planning for the national parks system. She is currently working on research projects on equity in government funding for emergency management, all-hazard planning for remote locations, floodplain development, and climate justice.
Jeffrey Glick, PhD
Professor of Practice, School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech
Adjunct Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University
jaglick@vt.edu
Dr. Jeffrey Glick is a Professor of Practice in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech and an adjunct professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. He teaches courses and conducts research in disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery, as well as critical infrastructure and resiliency. He has 40 years of federal government experience working at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security in emergency management and homeland security developing, directing and evaluating emergency management programs and responding to many of the most critical natural, technological and human caused disasters within the United States and beyond. He was detailed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as the Senior Policy Analyst for Emergency Programs. Dr. Glick holds a PhD in Engineering Management from George Washington University, an MS in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University, and a MA in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago. He is a designated NATO Civil Expert.
Bryce Gunson, PhD(c)
Research Project Coordinator and Contract Teaching Faculty
Wilfrid Laurier University
bgunson@wlu.ca
Bryce Gunson is a doctoral candidate and lecturer in geography at Wilfrid Laurier University, a research project coordinator in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Laurier Brantford, and a project manager at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Resilient Communities Research Collaborative. Bryce’s research focuses most broadly on climate change adaptation and environmental justice in rural spaces. Specific foci have included climate change impacts and adaptations for small rural communities in Ontario (Canada), the impacts of climate change on maple syrup production in Canada, emergency management photovoice research, community well-being research, nuclear fuel waste management research, and non-timber forest product research in Canada. He also has considerable experience working with Indigenous communities (including on reserves) for various projects across Canada led by Dr. Brenda Murphy. Bryce is the co-recipient of the 2022Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award for research conducted on First Nations home flood insurance needs. In partnership between federal, provincial, and territorial governments, this award is a prestigious recognition to those that have achieved excellence in their respective field.
Iuliia Hoban , Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Human Security & Resilience
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide
hobani@erau.edu
Dr. Iuliia Hoban is an Assistant Professor and Program Chair of the M.S. in Human Security and Resilience at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Campus. Dr. Hoban’s research focuses on children and childhood(s) in peace and security, how framing contests and strategic narratives shape policy responses and the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war on the vulnerable populations. Her research has been published in such journals as Cooperation and Conflict, Media, War and Conflict, International Journal of Human Rights and Childhood, Prior to her role at Embry-Riddle, she held academic positions at Radford University and the College of New Jersey. Dr. Hoban has also applied her research skills in NGOs and think tanks, including Watchlist for Children and Armed Conflict (New York, NY), the Institute of World Policy (Kyiv, Ukraine), and the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking (Denver, CO).
Kazi Amdadul Hoque, MA, MPH, MSS
Chair-Start Ready
Senior Director-FRIENDSHIP (NGO) (Strategic Planning and Head of Climate Action)
hoqueka@gmail.com
Kazi Amdadul Hoque is a devoted practitioner for environment-friendly intervention in Bangladesh. He is a passionate advocate for positive living and climate-resilient communities in northern sand-bar islands and coastal areas. He has designed and tested several successful environment-friendly, low-cost, innovative projects, including developing policy/guidelines, i.e., Standard Guidelines for Rural Housing in Disaster-prone areas in Bangladesh. He is a constant media advocate and contributes to raising awareness to address climate impacts through his articles/publications and media talks. He is the Chair of the Start Ready; the newest financial mechanism that provides funding at scale for predictable crises worldwide. Currently, he is the Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Head of Climate Action at Friendship NGO; which serves annually over 7.5 million climate-impacted marginalized people in Bangladesh. Kazi Amdad has 25 years of professional experience in sustainable development and humanitarian response, leading teams to build disaster-resilient communities in Bangladesh. Organisations he has worked with include UNICEF, IOCH/USAID, Save the Children USA/International. Kazi was the founding director of the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG). He has been awarded both in the country and abroad including the Chancellor Gold Medal award and Rotary award.
Muhammad Awfa Islam
PhD Student, Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP)
Virginia Tech
muhammadawfa@vt.edu
Muhammad Awfa Islam is a doctoral student at the Center for Public Administration and Policy, Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Virginia Tech). Awfa earned his graduate degree in Disaster Management and wrote his master’s dissertation on the Rohingya Crisis. Prior to his enrolment at Virginia Tech, he served as a faculty member at the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies (IDMVS), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, for four years – the same institute where he completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He taught courses on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Community Resilience, Theoretical Frameworks in Disaster Management, and Humanitarian Response to Disasters and Emergencies. His research areas and interests include disaster risk governance, humanitarian action and response, politics of humanitarian crisis, community-based disaster risk management, community resilience, and social inclusion in DRR. Awfa’s working experience includes working as a consultant and researcher in different projects commissioned by reputed national and international non-profits, such as – the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), American Red Cross, BRAC, Center for Disability and Development (CDD), etc. He has published in multiple peer-reviewed journals on topics such as community resilience, information-seeking behavior in emergencies, climate change adaptation, etc. He was awarded the prestigious President’s Gold Medal Award on the 51st convocation of the University of Dhaka for his outstanding academic achievement.
Glenn Jones ESM, CEM®
Superintendent (Retd) Life Member
New South Wales State Emergency Service
glenn.jones@ausglyn.com
Glenn Jones has over 40 years of military and corporate career experience and over 30 years in the emergency management space, predominately as a Superintendent and major emergency and disaster level Incident Controller (nationally certified) for significant floods, storms and bio-security events. He has extensive experience in senior executive management, emergency management, vocational training development and delivery, corporate systems development, and strategic, operational, and emergency management, including developing strategic frameworks, policies, and procedures. Glenn is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) and was recently awarded the Australian Honours and Awards Emergency Service Medal for conspicuous leadership and contribution to developing training and resources for Incident Management within the New South Wals State Emergency Service, in which he is also a Life Member.
Mikey Latner
Founder | Executive Director
Project Camp
mickey@projectcamp.co
A former camp director with two decades of camp experience under his belt, Mikey founded Project:Camp with the idea that camp and childcare professionals have critical skills to offer in times of emergency. In developing our pop-up camp model, Mikey sought to use the structure of camp as a vehicle to bring joy, safety and peace of mind to children and parents impacted by natural disasters. He hopes this work leads to a seismic shift in the disaster response ecosystem, creating a more holistic, trauma-informed and community-driven model that prioritizes the needs of families during emergencies.
Romeo B. Lavarias, DPA
Emergency Manager
City of Miramar, FL
rblavarias@miramarfd.org
Romeo B. Lavarias has been the Emergency Manager for the City of Miramar, FL since 2017. He earned his MA in Urban & Regional Panning from the University of Florida, his MA in Public Administration from Baruch College-City University of New York, his MA in Homeland Security & Defense from the Naval Postgraduate School, and his Doctorate in Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University. He holds a Certified Emergency Management designation from the International Association of Emergency Managers and a Florida Professional Emergency Manager certification from the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association. He currently serves on FEMA’s Preliminary Damage Assessment Subcommittee and has completed FEMA’s Advanced and Executive Academies. Romeo’s expertise includes emergency management, homeland security, public administration, ethics, performance measurement, and crisis communications. He has authored/co-authored several articles and book chapters in emergency management. Finally, he will begin his full-time academic position as a Lecturer in Emergency Management at the University of Central Florida’s Emergency Management Program.
Hsin-Hsuan “Shel” Lin, SJD
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan)
hl3bu@virginia.edu
Hsin-Hsuan “Shel” Lin obtained her S.J.D. from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 2019 and currently serves as an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan). Her research interests focus on constitutional law, administrative law, international public law, and Internet law and policy. Her articles have appeared in legal and social science journals, including Nature Hazards Review, Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review, and Taiwan Democracy Quarterly. She also currently serves as a commissioner of the Human Rights Committee in the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan, where she works intensively on improving human rights from both theoretical and practical perspectives in Taiwan.
Kelbie R. Kennedy, JD
Tribal Emergency Management Advocate
KelbieRKennedy@gmail.com
In 2022 Kelbie R. Kennedy was sworn into office as the first National Tribal Affairs Advocate for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She is the first Tribal Affairs political appointee in the history of FEMA and in the history of the Department of Homeland Security. She is an enrolled tribal citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and was born and raised on her Tribal Nation’s reservation in Southeastern, Oklahoma. Kelbie is a national expert in the areas of tribal emergency management and tribal homeland security policy. Before joining FEMA, she spent over four years working in Washington D.C. for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) as the Policy Manager and Policy Lead – National Security and Community Safety. In her role with NCAI, Kelbie worked on national policy issues surrounding tribal emergency management and resilience, tribal homeland security, tribal border issues, violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women, public safety and justice, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Indian child and family welfare, and international indigenous rights. Before NCAI, Kelbie worked as the Assistant Attorney General for Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. In her role as the Assistant Attorney General, she prosecuted both criminal and civil cases on behalf of the State, negotiated indigenous land claims, advised the Chuuk Governor, and testified before the Chuuk State legislature. Kelbie received her Associates in Arts from Eastern Oklahoma State College and her Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma. Kelbie graduated with her Juris Doctor and certificate in American Indian Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She was selected as a member of the Order of Barristers upon her law school graduation. The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development named Kelbie as one of the 2022 Native American 40 under 40 award recipients. In 2023 she received the Excellence in Government Service Award from the Native American Bar Association of D.C.
Danielle J. Mayberry, JD
Principal Law Clerk
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Courts
danielle.mayberry@srmt-nsn.gov
Danielle J. Mayberry is the Principal Law Clerk at the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Courts located in Akwesasne, New York. She has published law review and journal articles discussing the Indian Child Welfare Act, Western Shoshone sacred sites and the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and justice tools within tribal judiciaries. She was selected to be part of the Native Nations Institute 2021 Tribal Professionals Cohort consisting of six other tribal member professionals from across North America. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and History from Jamestown College in 2013, her law degree from the University of Idaho College of Law with an emphasis in Native American law in 2016, and earned a certificate in restorative justice from Vermont Law and Graduate School in 2024. She also serves as a trial level judge for the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone located in Northern Nevada and is on the National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) Board of Directors. She has presented at national judicial and other court professionals conferences and trainings. Danielle is an enrolled member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone.
Joshua D. McDuffie, M.S., E.I.
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Vanderbilt University
joshua.d.mcduffie@vanderbilt.edu
Joshua D. McDuffie is a PhD student at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN. Prior to his current position, Joshua earned his bachelor’ degree in Civil Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt. His research experience has centered around topics related to natural hazard risk, risk education and literacy, federal mitigation spending, and infrastructure resilience. He has worked closely with organizations like Tennessee DOT, FEMA, and Department of Defense on projects related to resilience and education and has communicated results in several public forums and conferences across the U.S. Joshua is a William Averette Anderson Fellow and Engineering Intern (EI).
David A. McEntire, PhD, SFHEA
Professor, Department of Emergency Services
Utah Valley University
david.mcentire@uvu.edu
David A. McEntire, teaches emergency management, homeland security, and national security at Utah Valley University, in Orem, UT. McEntire earned his graduate degrees in International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Policy Analysis. He worked previously for the American Red Cross and has studied disasters and emergency management in California, New York, Texas, Utah, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, New Zealand, and Peru. Professor McEntire’s areas of expertise include emergency management theory, vulnerability reduction, community preparedness, response coordination, terrorism/homeland security, and international disasters. He is the author of several books including Disaster Response and Recovery (Wiley), Introduction to Homeland Security (Wiley), Disciplines, Disasters and Emergency Management (CC Thomas), and The Distributed Functions of Emergency Management (CRC Press). David McEntire is the recipient of the Dr. B. Wayne Blanchard Award for Academic Excellence and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award.
Brenda Murphy, PhD
Professor, Department of Indigenous Studies, Law and Social Justice
Wilfrid Laurier University
bmurphy@wlu.ca
Brenda Murphy is a tenured professor and Undergraduate Officer in the Department of Indigenous Studies, Law and Social Justice at Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada. She earned her doctoral degree in Geography focusing on the impact of siting a high-level nuclear waste facility in rural and Indigenous spaces. Murphy has continued to work with rural and Indigenous community partners across Canada, focusing on increasing disaster resilience, especially local opportunities to mitigate and adapt to risks, better prepare for crises, and respond more effectively to emergencies. Embracing transdisciplinary, community-based methods, her work encompasses social capital, non-timber forest products, critical infrastructure, flood insurance, climate change, mutual aid and evacuation. Her work has been funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and by both federal and provincial agencies. She was the co-chair of the Indigenous Resilience Working Group under Canada’s Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. She is the co-recipient of Public Safety Canada’s Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award – Resilient Communities.
Terrence O’Sullivan, PhD, MAAS
Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Security Studies
University of New Hampshire
Terrence.o’sullivan@unh.edu
Terrence O’Sullivan, PhD, MAAS, is Chair of the University of New Hampshire Department of Security Studies, and former Coordinator for the (UNH) B.S. in Homeland Security program. He holds a master’s degree in African Area Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Southern California. His scholarship and teaching concentrate in domestic and international security studies, specializing in emergency management, civilian resilience, and terrorism; biosecurity (he’s studied pandemics and public health security, including bioterrorism, for over 25 years); environmental security and the climate/global heating crisis (community disaster resilience risk management, energy- and human security); critical infrastructure systems; weapons of mass destruction; and the theoretical, policy, and pedagogical implications of the above. He is currently Strategy Director for Education for the new ADAC-Arctic DHS Arctic Center of Excellence; formerly Director of the University of Akron’s Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy Research; and was a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Southern California’s CREATE Center, the first U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence; and a former Peace Corps public health volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Recent publications include O’Sullivan and Schwartz (2024), “Disaster Response of Short-Term Emergent Citizen Groups: Hurricane Sandy,” in Case Studies in Disaster Response, Shirley Feldman Jensen, Steve Jensen, Jean Slick, edits, Vol. 7 of Disaster and Emergency Management: Case Studies in Adaptation and Innovation; and O’Sullivan and Ramsay (2023), Science and Stovepipes: The Covid/Climate Mandate for Intelligence Analysis and Education. Proceedings of the International Association for Intelligence Education 2022 Conference, Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education, v16, #14.
Laura Phipps, DrPH, MPH, CPH, RS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Public Health Program
University of Texas at Arlington
laura.phipps@uta.edu
Laura Phipps teaches environmental health, emergency preparedness and management, public health ethics, and global health courses in the undergraduate and graduate Public Health Programs at the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned a B.S. in Microbiology from Texas A&M University and holds a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences as well as a Doctor of Public Health from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Her professional interests focus on global health, public health ethics, and emergency preparedness from a public health perspective, and she is particularly interested in community resilience and the ethical issues inherent in humanitarian aid and data management. Dr. Phipps teaches in short courses at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in Osnabrück, Germany and has headed up a study abroad program for senior undergraduate students to learn about international health and crisis management from national leaders in Berlin and Nuremberg, Germany. Her current research centers on emergency preparedness asset mapping in at-risk urban and rural communities. She has been the Co-Lead for the FEMA Higher Education International SIG since 2021.
Michael Prasad, MA, CEM®
Executive Director
The Center for Emergency Management Intelligence Research
Christine Raj, BA
MD/MPH Candidate at Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
craj@usc.edu
Christine Raj is a 4th year medical student at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley in Public Health. Christine’s areas of interest include pediatric disaster preparedness and improving health equity. She has worked as an EMT in the San Francisco Bay Area and helped organize disaster training drills for UC Berkeley. She also led Social Justice in Medicine and American Medical Women’s Association student interest groups at Keck. She hopes to decrease health disparities in the medical field in the future.
Kesley J. Richardson, DPA, MPH, CEM®
Adjunct Professor, School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Loyola University of Chicago
Krichardson8@luc.edu
Kesley Richardson teaches emergency management, homeland security, and public health at the Loyola University of Chicago, where he serves as an affiliate in the Institute of Racial Justice (IRJ), Texas Southern University, and Nova Southeastern University. Richardson earned his graduate degrees in Public Administration and Public Health. He is a Pracademic working in practice and has worked for state, local, and private emergency management organizations. He studies disasters and emergency management from an organizational context. Professor Richardson’s areas of expertise include emergency management and organizational theory, community preparedness, organizational evaluation, and response coordination. Kesley Richardson is the recipient of the Governors Hurricane Conference Rising Star and in the inaugural 40 under 40 for the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), and a William Averette Anderson Fund (BAF) Fellow.
Patrick S. Roberts, PhD
Professor
Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP)
Virginia Tech
robertsp@vt.edu
Patrick S. Roberts is a professor at the Center for Public Administration & Policy in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech in Arlington, Virginia. He specializes in public management, democratic accountability, and the governance of disasters and emergencies. For 2017-2018, he served as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Nuclear Security at the State Department. Patrick holds a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Virginia, and he spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow, one at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and another at the Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard University. He spent 2010-11 as the Ghaemian Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Heidelberg Center for American Studies in Germany. Patrick has published in a variety of scholarly and popular journals, and his research has been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Korean KHRIS research institute, and the Social Science Research Council. He is the author of the book Disasters and the American State: How Politicians, Bureaucrats, and the Public Prepare for the Unexpected.
Jennifer Russell, MSN, RN, IBCLC, NHDP-BC, CHEP
PhD Candidate
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
jrussell@uthsc.edu
Jennifer Russell is a Registered Nurse and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant with over 25 years of combined experience in pediatrics, lactation, public health, emergency preparedness, and disaster response. Her expertise involves multiple levels of care, including direct patient care and education and management in specialties such as Pediatrics, Critical Care, and Public Health Emergency Preparedness. Jennifer has designed experiential and didactic curricula and presented original strategies for pediatrics, lactation, disaster response, and emergency preparedness education at the local, state, and national levels. She holds a BSN from Union University and an MSN from the University of Phoenix. Leveraging her experiences, Jennifer serves on multiple initiatives to improve maternal child health, access to lactation support, and disaster response capacity. Serving in these roles led her to discover substantial knowledge gaps, which limited the effectiveness of the initiatives. So, she returned to school to address the gaps. She is now a PhD Candidate in Nursing Science at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where she studies the impact of natural disasters on the breastfeeding dyad.
Lorraine Schneider, MSc, CEM®
Chief of Operations
The Resiliency Initiative
Lorraine Schneider is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®), who currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for The Resiliency Initiative, a crisis management consulting firm dedicated to empowering communities and organizations to become self-reliant. Previously, she developed groundbreaking training, exercise, and preparedness programs serving The Walt Disney Company and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Guided by her quest for a more inclusive and innovative field of practice, she founded the Emergency Management Growth Initiative (EMGI) in 2020 in an effort to make the emergency management profession both more visible and accessible. Ms. Schneider is Chairwoman of the Board for Project: Camp, a nonprofit that pops up camps for children impacted by disaster. She graduated with a Master of Science in International Strategy and Diplomacy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and received a Certificate degree in Emergency Management & Homeland Security from UCLA Extension, along with a Bachelor of Arts degree in North American Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin.
Christopher Sheach, MA DEM, CEM
Assistant Professor, Disaster Management and Response,
Paul Smith’s College
csheach@paulsmiths.edu
Christopher Sheach teaches disaster management, social research, and technical rescue at Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondack Park of New York. Sheach completed a Master of Arts in Disaster and Emergency Management and is a doctoral candidate in Fire and Emergency Management Administration. Before starting his academic career, Sheach directed humanitarian aid programs for various non-governmental organizations, including work in Somalia, Indonesia, Haiti, Yemen and the Philippines. He specializes in humanitarian program evaluation, participatory action research, climate change adaptation and community-based disaster risk reduction. Publications include contributions to Re-Imagining STM (Wipf & Stock) and the Disaster Preparedness Journal (March 2023).
Dulce M. Suarez, PhD
Adjunct Professor and Assistant Director
Academy for International Disaster Preparedness, Florida International University
dboza@fiu.edu
Dulce Suarez is the Assistant Director for the Academy for International Disaster Preparedness, who actively teaches disaster management in a graduate program integrating practical experience with academic principles. Dr. Suarez holds graduate degrees in International Relations from the University of Miami, the University of Florida, and Florida International University. Before Dr. Suarez arrived at FIU, she played a pivotal role in providing humanitarian aid and spearheading the development of disaster mitigation and recovery projects across Latin America. Today, with more than 13 years of experience in crisis and disaster management operations, she is educating and preparing the next generation of emergency and disaster management leaders.
Yi-En “Mike” Tso, PhD.
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science, Soochow University (Taiwan)
yetso@scu.edu.tw
Yi-En “Mike” Tso, teaches public administration, leadership in disaster response, urban governance, and China study at Soochow University in Taipei, Taiwan. Tso earned his PhD degree in public policy and political economy at University of Texas at Dallas. He worked previously for Gueishan Township in Taoyuan, Taiwan as the special assistant to township mayor. His areas of expertise include emergency management, disaster response, local government and governance, and China studies. Tso is the recipient of the Government Scholarship to Study Abroad by the Ministry of Education (Taiwan), and Dissertation Fellowships for ROC Students Abroad by Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange.
Yungnane Yang, PhD
Professor, Department of Political Science
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
yungnane@ncku.edu.tw
Yungnane Yang, teaches disaster management system, policy analysis, environmental policy, and organizational behavior at National Cheng Kung University, in Tainan City, Taiwan. Yang earned his graduate degrees in Public Administration, Public Management, and Public Finance. He worked previously for Police University and has studied disasters, environmental pollution, and salt pond restoration in Taiwan, the United States, and Japan. Professor Yang’s areas of expertise include disaster management system, community preparedness, police organizations, and organizational behavior. He is the author of several journal articles and 3 books including Disaster Management System, Disaster Management System: Effectiveness and Change, and Organizational Behavior. The first two books were published through peer review. Yungnane Yang was the Fulbright Scholar in 2013. And he won the USR (University Social Responsibility) Award in 2021.
