Appendix A
Committee Member Biographies

Dr. Anne C. Petersen (Chair) is founder and president of Global Philanthropy Alliance, a foundation making grants in Africa. She is also research professor at the Center for Human Growth and Development and faculty associate at the Center for Global Health, both of the University of Michigan, among other affiliations there. Dr. Petersen serves on several voluntary boards or committees for other foundations and government, scientific, and community-based organizations. She is co-chair of the advisory board for CALIT2, an organization created a decade ago to move information technology advances from the University of California system to industry in California. Previously, Dr. Petersen held positions as professor of psychology at Stanford University, deputy director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, senior vice president for programs and corporate officer at the WK Kellogg Foundation, and department head and founding dean of the College of Health and Human Development at The Pennsylvania State University. She was the first vice president for research at the University of Minnesota, as well as graduate dean, and professor in the Institute for Child Development and Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Petersen was also faculty at the University of Chicago and associate director of the MacArthur Foundation Health Program. She has authored numerous articles and books. Her honors include election to the National Academy of Medicine and Fellow of several scientific societies including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association (three divisions), and founding Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. She cofounded the Society of Research on Adolescence, was president of several scientific societies, and is past president of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development. Dr. Petersen received her PhD in measurement, evaluation and statistical analysis from the University of Chicago.

Brian Bledsoe is GAA distinguished professor and director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems at the University of Georgia. He has more than 30 years of experience as a civil and environmental engineer, hydrologist, and environmental scientist in the private and public sectors. Before entering the professorate, Dr. Bledsoe worked as a consulting engineer and surveyor, and for the State of North Carolina as a watershed restoration engineer. His research is focused on the interface of engineering, hydrology, and ecology with

an emphasis on infrastructure, stormwater and flood management, water quality, and restoration of river and wetland ecosystems. Dr. Bledsoe received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2006, served as a Fulbright Scholar in Chile in 2008, was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2017, and is past president of the American Ecological Engineering Society. He holds degrees from Georgia Tech, North Carolina State University, and Colorado State University (PhD in civil engineering).

Irene Dankwa-Mullan is chief health equity officer and deputy chief health officer for IBM Corporation, IBM Watson Health. IBM Watson Health created a cloud-based data hub that brings together individual, clinical, research, and social data from a variety of resources and that is powered by advanced cognitive and analytic technology. Dr. Dankwa-Mullan is responsible for the global strategy for driving and building clinical evidence for Watson Health solutions. This is accomplished through evaluation research, real-world evidence studies, and implementation studies to support evidence-based practices to transform health care. She works with multidisciplinary teams at the interface of big data, cognitive computing, and machine learning technology to inform health care delivery and clinical decision making. Dr. Dankwa Mullan is a physician-researcher with nearly two decades of experience in clinical research, public health, disparities, and population health. She spent nearly a decade delivering and managing frontline primary care, preventive services, and community-based clinical research as a public health physician and medical director. Prior to her role at IBM, Dr. Dankwa-Mullan was a medical officer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she served as director of the Office of Innovation and Program Coordination and then as deputy director for the Division of Scientific Programs within the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She was awarded the first NIH Director’s award for exceptional contribution to advancing the science of health disparities. Dr. Dankwa-Mullan received her MD from Dartmouth Medical School.

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling is professor of psychological science at University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a licensed clinical psychologist. She is core faculty in the clinical health and community health concentrations of the health psychology doctoral program. Her most recent research is community based, focused on underserved and disadvantaged populations, and occurs while integrating mental and behavioral health care into primary care and public health settings. Her work typically centers around the prevention of violence: sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and gun violence. Implementing, evaluating, and educating others to provide evidence-based, solution focused and resiliency-enhancing interventions is a priority for Dr. Langhinrichsen-Rohling. Previously, she served at executive director of the Gulf Coast Behavioral Health and Resiliency Center and has more than 175 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Langhinrichsen-Rohling received her PhD in clinical and community psychology from the University of Oregon.

Amy E. Lesen (resigned from committee October 13, 2021) is professor of Environmental Leadership and Participatory Change at Antioch University. She was previously associate professor in the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center at Dillard University and research associate professor at the Tulane ByWater Institute at Tulane University in New Orleans. The overarching theme of her work is the interrelatedness between environmental and human social dynamics in coastal cities and coastal communities, and how those systems are influenced by climate and environmental change. Most of her current work is focused in New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast. Dr. Lesen also researches and writes about the intersection between science and the arts, disaster resilience, informal science learning, scientific public engagement, science communication, participatory research, and interdisciplinarity. She received a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in integrative biology with a concentration in biological oceanography and paleoceanography.

Jaimie Hicks Masterson is director of Texas Target Communities at Texas A&M University, an engaged research program that works alongside low-capacity communities to plan for resilience. Based on this work, in 2019, the Liberty County Strategic Plan received the national Silver Planning Achievement Award from the American Planning Association. Ms. Masterson is author of Planning for Community Resilience: A Handbook for Reducing Vulnerabilities to Disasters, which focuses on hazard mitigation strategies and tools for government officials, planners, and emergency mangers that can be incorporated predisaster. Additionally, she is coauthor of Engaged Research for Community Resilience to Climate Change. She is co–principal investigator of the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard project funded by the Department of Homeland Security, through the Coastal Resilience Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Masterson also consults with small communities to develop comprehensive plans and other planning needs to fold and infuse resilience practices into community initiatives. She previously worked as a landscape designer and secondary education instructor. Ms. Masterson received her bachelor of landscape architecture and master of urban planning with a certificate in environmental hazards from Texas A&M University.

Alison M. Meadow is associate research professor in the Arizona Institutes for Resilience. With her background in environmental anthropology, Indigenous studies, and urban planning, Dr. Meadow’s research focuses on the process of linking scientists with decision makers to improve the usability of climate science, with a particular emphasis on evaluating the societal outcomes of such partnerships. She partners with communities in Arizona and New Mexico to support their climate adaptation planning efforts through the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) program. In addition to her affiliation with CLIMAS, she is a co–principal investigator with the Department of the Interior’s Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. Dr. Meadow received her PhD in anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Fernando I. Rivera is professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida. He has established an ongoing research program in the fields of medical sociology; sociology of health, race, and ethnicity; and sociology of disasters. Dr. Rivera has studied the differential patterns of health among Puerto Ricans in the United States by analyzing social indicators such as perceived discrimination, residential segregation, and socioeconomic status, and impacts of these indicators on Puerto Rican health. In the area of race and ethnicity, he has studied racial relations among college students, the process of incorporation of Puerto Ricans to Central Florida, and several aspects of the Puerto Rican diaspora in the United States, including health disparities, culture, and discrimination, among others. For the study of disasters, his work has emphasized disaster resiliency and the importance of social and economic indicators in promoting resilience to the process of preparedness, mitigation, response to, and recovery from disasters. Dr. Rivera has expanded his disaster resilience work, particularly as it relates to community resilience, to the study of restoration and resilience for an ongoing National Science Foundation research grant. He received his PhD in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Mathew Sanders manages the state planning portfolio of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Flood-Prepared Communities initiative, which focuses on state-level efforts to plan for current and future flood risk. In this role, he works directly with state governments and community leaders to advocate for, develop, and implement comprehensive disaster-resilience plans for various flood risks, including coastal surge, riverine, and flash flooding. Before joining Pew, Mr. Sanders led the development of Louisiana’s successful application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development–sponsored National Disaster Resilience Competition; upon receipt of a $92.6 million award, he was principal planner in development of both funded projects—Louisiana’s Strategic Adaptations for Future Environments and the relocation of Isle de Jean Charles in remote coastal Louisiana. He received the Route Fifty Navigator Award in the Leaders category for excellence and achievement in state government. Mr. Sanders holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University and a master’s in urban planning from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Additionally, he is accredited by the American Planning Association’s American Institute of Certified Planners.

Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer is community development manager for the Community Environment & Health program of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). Ms. Qataliña is Iñupiaq, and comes from Kotzebue, Alaska. She has worked in comprehensive planning, energy, housing, and water/sanitation efforts in rural communities across Alaska, utilizing a holistic approach to project development. Her passion has led her to infuse traditional Inuit knowledge into strategic planning to change the top-down approach into a locally driven, grassroots approach, which allows local leadership to be empowered to own and lead the discussions and decision making. Ms. Qataliña believes her ancestors’ traditional knowledge

will help bridge gaps in our multicultural lifestyles and create balance in how we adapt to our rapidly changing climate. Her current work includes innovative sanitation solutions for unserved communities, tribal resilience adaptation planning, and community engagement for communities responding to climate impacts. Ms. Qataliña also works with various indigenous groups to revitalize the return of traditional practices, including Iñupiaq language, traditional healing, medicinal plants and harvesting practices, storytelling, traditional skin sewing, and Iñupiaq dancing. Her commitment to serving the Indigenous people of Alaska allows her to utilize a variety of skills and talents. She currently sits on the NANA Regional Corporation Board of Directors, Alaska Institute for Climate & Energy Board of Directors, and the ANTHC Scholarship Committee, and is a Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation shareholder and a tribal member of the Native Village of Kotzebue. Ms. Qataliña studied interior design and sustainable building in London and in the United States.

David R. Shaw is provost and executive vice president at Mississippi State University (MSU). As the university’s chief academic officer, he oversees all academic policies, the integrity of the academic mission, and academic operations. He provides direct oversight for eight academic colleges and two campuses, as well as many academic and nonacademic support units. A long-time faculty member and former vice president for research and economic development at MSU, he works with senior administrators to develop budgetary recommendations that affect the teaching, research, and service mission of the institution. Dr. Shaw previously served as founding director of the Northern Gulf Institute, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Institute, and as founding director of the Geosystems Research Institute at MSU. Dr. Shaw is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2017, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program selected him for its prestigious U.S.-France International Education Administrators Program. Dr. Shaw serves on the board and chairs the budget committee for the Gulf Research Program. He was recently appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee. Dr. Shaw holds a bachelor’s in agriculture from Cameron University in Oklahoma and a master’s and doctorate from Oklahoma State University.

Heidi Stiller is south regional director for National Ocean Service (NOS) Office for Coastal Management (OCM) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); she is based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Ms. Stiller serves as a focal point for senior-level coastal partner interaction at the regional, state, and local levels from North Carolina to Texas, including the Caribbean. She helps to implement national and regional statutory and other coastal and ocean programs; responds to the needs of users, partners, and coastal decision makers; and delivers technical assistance to meet coastal and ocean challenges. Before joining NOAA, Ms. Stiller worked for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management and spent 3 years at the Florida Coastal Management Program. Her work is focused on planning

that incorporates hazard mitigation, climate adaptation, and natural resource sustainability, including providing data and tools to help communities address and communicate coastal inundation risks. Ms. Stiller has experience with postdisaster recovery planning and recently served as an author on the coastal chapter of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. She received her master’s degrees in public policy and environmental management from Duke University.

James Temte is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe; he is acting director of the Office of Research and Community Engagement at Alaska Pacific University (APU) and adjunct faculty in the Institute of Culture and the Environment. Among other subjects, he teaches modern Indigenous art, climate change, and coproduction of knowledge. He has spent time with Tribes in all regions of the United States, and most recently in Alaska. Mr. Temte has a passion for supporting Indigenous voices, tribal sovereignty, tribal self-determination, and coproduction of knowledge, including Indigenous methodologies and Western science. He uses innovative community engagement methods, including mural art, traditional Indigenous culture, science, and media. Mr. Temte works with communities on multidisciplinary teams to inspire a broader understanding of community voices and priorities, so that they are not only heard but also supported, celebrated, and preserved. He has a BS in biology from Fort Lewis College and an MS in applied environmental science and technology from the University of Alaska Anchorage.