Compounding Disasters in Gulf Coast Communities 2020-2021: Impacts, Findings, and Lessons Learned (2024)

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Appendix D Committee Member and Staff Biographical Sketches Roy E. Wright, M.P.A. (Chair), is president and CEO of the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). Mr. Wright joined IBHS in 2018 with more than 20 years of experience in insurance, risk management, mitigation, and resilience planning. Convinced that the continuing cycle of human suffering that strikes families and communities in the wake of severe weather can be broken, Mr. Wright leads a team of scientists and risk communicators who deliver strategies to build safer and stronger homes and businesses. IBHS’s real-world impact enables the insurance industry and affected property owners to prevent avoidable losses. Mr. Wright joined IBHS from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) where he served as the chief executive of the National Flood Insurance Program, led the agency’s Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, and directed the resilience programs addressing earthquake, fire, flood, and wind risks. In these roles, he guided several programs that promote a risk-conscious culture, enable faster disaster recovery, and address long-term vulnerabilities to life, property, and well-being in communities across the United States. Prior to joining FEMA in 2007, he worked in public and private sector roles with Coray Gurnitz Strategy Consulting and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Mr. Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Azusa Pacific University and a master of public administration from the George Washington University. Jeff Byard is a Greyshirt and Marine Corps veteran serving as vice president of operations for Team Rubicon. In that capacity, he leads a highly functional and diverse team of staff and volunteers dedicated to delivering disaster relief services across the country. He develops strategies to grow connections with local, state, federal, and other partners to enhance effective and efficient service delivery. His résumé includes being the associate administrator, Office of 279 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS 

Response and Recovery at FEMA, and executive operations officer at the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). Jeff honorably served in the United States Marine Corps from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Byard holds a bachelor of science degree from Troy University and is a graduate of the FEMA Executive Academy (Cohort V) and the Alabama Public Safety Leadership Academy (Cohort I). Mr. Byard is a charter member of the Region IV Regional Advisory Council (RAC). Mr. Byard received the Department of Homeland Security Outstanding Service Medal and the Distinguished Public Safety Award from the United States Coast Guard. Craig E. Colten, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus of Louisiana State University. Before retirement in 2021, he was the Carl O. Sauer Professor of Geography and Anthropology. He held prior positions with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, PHR Environmental Consultants, and Texas State University. He has published several books dealing with the hazards and society on the Gulf Coast, including the award winning An Unnatural Metropolis (2005), along with Perilous Place, Powerful Storms (2009), Southern Waters (2014), and State of Disaster (2021). His research has been funded by the State of Illinois, the National Park Service, the Corps of Engineers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Institutes of Environment Health Science, the Water Institute of the Gulf, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Mellon Foundation. The results of his work have appeared in a range of academic journals. He has received a Rainmaker Award from Louisiana State University and is a fellow of the American Association of Geographers. Tracy L. Kijewski-Correa, Ph.D., is the Leo E. and Patti Ruth Linbeck Collegiate Chair and associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. Jointly appointed as an associate professor of flobal affairs, she also serves as co-director of the Keough School’s Integration Lab (i-Lab) and faculty fellow at a number of institutes focused on global development and real estate. Her research is dedicated to enhancing the resilience and sustainability of hazard-exposed communities, with an emphasis on conceiving holistic responses to infrastructure vulnerabilities and developing tools 280 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS 

that support science-informed decision-making by diverse stakeholders. She currently serves as the inaugural director of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Structural Extreme Event Reconnaissance (StEER) Network, coordinating damage assessments following hazard events worldwide. Her contributions have been recognized by awards from the American Society of Civil Engineering, American Political Science Association, Institution of Civil Engineers, International Association for Wind Engineering, and American Association for Wind Engineering. Dr. Kijewski-Correa is formally trained as a civil engineer with a specialization in Structural Engineering, earning her bachelor of science, master of science, and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. J. Marshall Shepherd, Ph.D., is a leading international expert in weather and climate and is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia (UGA). Dr. Shepherd was the 2013 president of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the nation’s largest and oldest professional/science society in the atmospheric and related sciences. Dr. Shepherd serves as director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Program and full professor in the Department of Geography where he was a previous associate department head. He is also the host of the Weather Channel’s award- winning show Weather Geeks, a pioneering Sunday talk podcast/show, and a contributor to Forbes Magazine. In 2021, Dr. Shepherd was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the only faculty member in UGA history to be elected to all three, which are considered some of the highest honors bestowed on a scientist or engineer. The same year, Dr. Shepherd also received the Friends of the Planet Award from the National Council of Science Educators and the American Geological Institutes Award for Engagement in the Geosciences. Dr. Shepherd received the 2020 Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the 2019 AGU Climate Communication Prize, and the 2018 prestigious AMS Helmut Landsberg Award for pioneering and significant work in urban climate. In 2017, he was honored with the AMS Brooks Award, a high honor within the field of meteorology. Ted Turner and his Captain Planet Foundation honored Dr. Shepherd in 2014 with its Protector of the Earth Award. Prior recipients include Erin Brockovich 281 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS 

and former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa Jackson. He is also the 2015 recipient of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Media Achievement Award, the Florida State University Grads Made Good Award, and the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Sandy Beaver Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2015, he was invited to moderate the White House Champions for Change event. He is an alumnus of the prestigious SEC Academic Leadership Fellows Program. Prior to UGA, Dr. Shepherd spent 12 years as a research meteorologist at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and was deputy project scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, a multinational space mission that launched in 2014. President Bush honored him on May 4, 2004, at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award for pioneering scientific research in weather and climate science. Dr. Shepherd is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Two national magazines, the AMS, and Florida State University have also recognized him for his significant contributions. He was the 2016 Spring Undergraduate Commencement speaker at his three-time alma mater, Florida State University. He was also the 2017 Graduate Commencement speaker at the University of Georgia. Dr. Shepherd received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in physical meteorology from Florida State University. He was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from the Florida State University Department of Meteorology, one of the nation’s oldest and respected. He is also the second African American to preside over the American Meteorological Society. James Shultz, Ph.D., is a population health scientist and associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where he holds multiple leadership roles. First, Dr. Shultz is the director of the Center for Disaster and Extreme Event Preparedness (DEEP Center). Second, he is the director of P3H: Protect & Promote Population Health in Complex Crises. Third, he is the disaster public health lead for the Global Institute for Community Health and Development. Dr. Shultz teaches core public health courses in both residential and online formats and a disaster and emergency public health elective in the Graduate Programs in Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Shultz publishes and conducts research on themes of population health science, disaster behavioral health, protecting medically high-risk patients from disasters, climate change impacts on 282 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS 

population health, complex and compounding disaster risks and resilience, global mental health, and structural violence. He is lead author on a popular textbook, Public Health: An Introduction to the Science and Practice of Population Health, second edition, along with Drs. Lisa Sullivan and Sandro Galea. Dr. Shultz holds a Ph.D. in behavioral epidemiology and a master of science degree in health behavior research from the University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. Chauncia T. Willis, M.P.A., is the co-founder and CEO of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM). Ms. Willis is certified as an emergency manager, professional coach, and cultural diversity professional with more than 20 years of experience. Her expertise includes disaster management; national security event planning; leadership coaching; immigrant and refugee outreach; and diversity, equity, and inclusion training. Prior to co-founding I-DIEM, Ms. Willis served as the emergency manager in Tampa, Florida, for more than 14 years, where she developed successful programs benefiting marginalized populations. She has led national emergency planning efforts for political conventions, national football league games, and international award shows. In her role as CEO for I-DIEM, she leads the effort to integrate equity into all facets of disaster policy, programs, and practice with the goal of increasing cultural competence and mitigating the harmful effects of bias on underserved groups. Regarded as a national expert, she has provided witness testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on multiple occasions on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as policy implementation. Ms. Willis hails from St. Petersburg, Florida, and is a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans and Georgia State University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. STAFF Dan Burger, M.P.A., is a senior program manager for the Gulf Research Program (GRP) Division and leads the work of the Gulf Health and Resilience Board (GHRB). Mr. Burger’s work concentrates on the intersection of climate change, human health, and disaster resilience 283 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS 

and includes a broad portfolio of applied research, strategic partnerships, and capacity building. Prior to joining the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Mr. Burger held senior management and leadership positions for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Coastal Zone Management Program focusing on policy and intergovernmental coastal resource management, hazard mitigation and resilience planning efforts. Mr. Burger is also a founder and former chair of the Charleston Resilience Network, a collaborative effort among public, private, academic, and nongovernmental organizations to enhance regional decision-making and improve the resilience of social, physical, and economic systems. Mr. Burger has served on numerous regional and national advisory boards including an appointment to the National Academies’ Resilient America Roundtable. Prior to his work in South Carolina, he worked to advance environmental public policy and build the capacity of nonprofit organizations and associations in Maryland. He is an honors graduate of Western Maryland (McDaniel) College and holds a master of public administration in urban public affairs from the College of Charleston. Jessica Simms, Ph.D., is a program officer for the Health and Resilience Board in the Gulf Research Program. Her work and research lie at the intersection of climate, health, and equity and include community-based relocations, solastalgia, transdisciplinary approaches to solving complex challenges, community capacity-building for equitable access to resources, and compounding and cascading disasters. Dr. Simms has a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in politics, an M.A. in geography from San Diego State University, and a Ph.D. in geography from Louisiana State University. For her dissertation research, she interviewed more than 100 coastal Louisiana residents who have already or are currently facing possible relocation decisions or displacement in order to understand the links among the influence and mobility of three factors: social relations (faith-based networks, civic organizations, family, cultural and heritage identities, etc.), inherent resilient practices, and place, including sense of and attachment to it. Before joining the GRP in October 2021, Dr. Simms worked for 4 years as the lead outreach and engagement coordinator for the Resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. 284 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS 

Jennifer A. Cohen, M.P.H., is a senior program officer in the Gulf Research Program Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Ms. Cohen has worked on a number of projects at the National Academies, including Organ Procurement and Transplantation, Clearing the Air: Asthma and Indoor Air Exposures, Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2000 and Update 2014, Post-Vietnam Exposure in Agent Orange-Contaminated C-123 Aircraft, Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids, Getting to Zero Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities, and Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System. She was also the rapporteur for the workshop summary Challenges and Successes in Reducing Health Disparities. She received her undergraduate degree and M.P.H. from the University of Maryland, College Park. Robert Gasior, M.P.H., works on improving health and community resilience to climate change and other disasters as a program officer at the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Previously, he directed several programs related to science and technology cooperation and science diplomacy. He directed the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER)/Liberia program, a $6 million initiative, which aimed to build subspecialty medical education capacity in Liberia to benefit the populations at large and specifically Ebola survivors. Additionally, he managed a portfolio of more than 40 research grants focused on maternal and child health, infectious disease, WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), tobacco control, renewable energy, and biodiversity located in more than 20 countries. He started his career at the National Academies with the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Forum on Microbial Threats. Prior to the National Academies, he led service- learning and student leadership development initiatives at the Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Gasior received a B.S. in biology and anthropology-zoology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and an M.P.H. degree in epidemiology at George Washington University. Sasha Allison is a research associate in the Gulf Health and Resilience Board of the Gulf Research Program. She has been working with the GHRB since June 2022. Prior to joining the GRP, Ms. Allison earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in anthropology from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in May 2022. Much of her previous undergraduate 285 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS 

coursework and experience has shaped and solidified her interest in environmental and social policy, from summers spent researching land use policy in Central America to time as a political canvasser for housing and energy justice to work as an instructor for a summer course on the sociopolitical dimensions of climate change. Emily Twigg, M.S., is an experienced program manager who has worked on a broad range of ocean science topics. From 2016 to 2023, Ms. Twigg served as a program officer for the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In this capacity, she led or contributed to production of 13 reports and workshop proceedings by coordinating committees of subject matter experts and staff teams, organizing public meetings, building consensus, writing and editing reports, and contributing to public communication materials. She has covered topics ranging from ocean observing, offshore wind development, fisheries, ocean pollution, carbon dioxide removal, and ecosystem restoration. Ms. Twigg also served as the staff officer supporting the U.S. National Committee for the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), which is constituted by the National Academies’ Ocean Studies Board. She previously held positions at the National Science Foundation supporting multimillion dollar grant programs and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supporting an interagency initiative on coastal wetland protection. She has additional experience working in resource management in the National Park Service, and in outdoor environmental education. Ms. Twigg has a master’s degree in environmental science and management from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Juan Sandoval is a senior program assistant/research assistant with the GRP Division supporting the Gulf Futures Initiative. In his 4 years with the GRP, Mr. Sandoval has provided administrative support on a number of projects, grant cycles, and boards, including the Gulf Health and Resilience Board. Prior to joining the GRP, he worked for the University of Maryland Medical System as a project coordinator. He earned his B.S. in geography from the University of Maryland with a concentration in sustainability and development and a Certificate in Latin American Studies. 286 PREPUBLICATION | UNCORRECTED PROOFS