Disaster Preparedness, Resilience and Response

Lee C. Bollinger became Columbia University’s nineteenth president in 2002. Under his leadership, Columbia stands again at the very top rank of great research universities, distinguished...

Curtis Brown serves as the Chief Deputy State Coordinator at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. He has homeland security and emergency management experience at the federal, state, and local levels.

Michael Burger is the Executive Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, and a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia Law School. His research and advocacy focus on legal strategies...

Robert Chen is director of the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), a research unit of the Earth Institute at Columbia. He has managed the NASA Socioeconomic...

Professor George Deodatis received his Diploma in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece in 1982. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering...

Representative Adriano Espaillat proudly represents New York’s Thirteenth Congressional District. He was sworn into office on January 3, 2017, during the 115th Congress.

Dylan George, Ph.D., is a Vice President, Technical Staff in BNext at In-Q-Tel (IQT). George provides strategic science and technical vision to strengthen capacity within the United States...

Christopher "Bong" Grajo is the founder and current President of the Emergency Response Integration Center (ERIC), a non-governmental, nonprofit organization that specializes in data management...

Avril Haines was the Deputy Director of Columbia World Projects from 2017-2020. She now serves as director of national intelligence in the Biden administration.

Kevin Halsey is currently an ecosystem service analyst at ESG and has been working in the ecosystem services field since 2004. Prior to working in the ecosystem service world Halsey worked...

Rebecca Hersher is a science reporter at National Public Radio, where she covers climate science, climate policy and toxics. She has reported widely on disaster risk and resilience in...

Junia Howell is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh and a Kinder Scholar at Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

Wilmot James is a visiting professor of (non-clinical) pediatrics and international affairs at Columbia University in New York City. An academic by background with a Ph.D. from the University...

Jeh Johnson is a partner with the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and the former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (2013- 2017).

Ira Katznelson is Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History at Columbia University. His 2013 book, "Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time," received the Bancroft...

Matt Keller is the partnership lead for North America for the UN World Food Programme's Innovation Accelerator. Prior to re-joining WFP, Keller was Executive Director of the $15 million...

Nicholas Lemann was the director of Columbia World Projects from 2017 through February 2021. He directs Columbia Global Reports, a book publishing venture that commissions reporting...

Anne Liu is an innovations expert focused on digital solutions for disease surveillance and health systems strengthening. She currently serves as Technical Adviser at the Clinton Health...

Syra Madad, D.H.Sc., M.Sc., MCP is nationally recognized leader in public health and special pathogen preparedness and response.

Michael Mahar, PhD, is the Lead for the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) and WHO International Health Regulations collaborating center in the Division of Global Health Protection (DGHP)...

Tim Manning has worked on both the front lines and the senior most levels of homeland security, emergency management, and resilience for more than twenty-five years; Manning is a former...

Amanda McClelland is the Senior Vice President of the Prevent Epidemics team at Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. McClelland has more than 14 years’ experience...

Roberto Moris is an architect and urban planner. Moris is the Director of the Planning and Urban Projects Program at Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile.

Kate Orff is a landscape architect focused on nature-based infrastructure and urban resilience. She is an Associate Professor at Columbia GSAPP and Director of the Urban Design Program.

Roger L. Parrino Sr. currently serves as a senior advisor for security and emergency management at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, having previously served as the Commissioner...

Andrew Phelps has served as the Director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management since 2015. In addition to managing the state’s 9-1-1 program and multi-million-dollar state and...

Richard Plunz is Professor of Architecture at Columbia University and founder of the Earth Institute Urban Design Lab. In the past he served as Chair of the Division of Architecture and...

Julissa Reynoso is a partner at the law firm of Winston & Strawn. Her extensive experience includes analyzing and advising on complex cross-border litigations, investigations and disputes...

Dan Rubenstein is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Columbia University. He received a B.S. degree in mathematics from M.I.T., an M.A. in math from UCLA...

Jeff Schlegelmilch is the Deputy Director for the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. His areas of expertise include public health preparedness, community resilience, and the integration...

Hugh Sealy is a chemical engineer and environmental scientist. He is a Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Barbados and advises the Government of Barbados on matters relating to climate...

Jeffrey Shaman is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Director of the Climate and Health Program at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Adam Sobel studies weather and climate, with a focus on extreme weather events and a particular interest in the tropics. Phenomena include tropical cyclones, intraseasonal variability...

Lawrence Stanberry is the Associate Dean for International Programs, the Director of the Programs in Global Health and, formerly, the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia...

Nik is the Deputy Director of Columbia World Projects. He previously served as the Counselor and Chief Speechwriter for Samantha Power, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Jeff Stern leads the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Commonwealth’s disaster preparedness and response agency. Appointed in 2014, Stern has led VDEM through a modernization...

Tara Vassefi is the Washington Director of Strategic Initiatives for Truepic, a technology company specializing in image authentication. She is currently a visiting scholar with UC Berkeley...

Dickie Whitaker has 30 years’ experience in the (Re)Insurance business and for the last 20 years has specialized in risk and innovation, linking academia, government and finance.