NDPTC's cadre of instructors are of the highest caliber, very well-respected in their fields and disciplines. Many have advanced degrees in science, engineering, planning, and architecture, and years of practical experience as leaders within their field of expertise. Click on any of the instructor names or scroll down to view all instructor bios.

EDDIE BERNARD

Dr. Bernard is a subject matter expert and consultant on issues dealing with tsunami warning systems, tsunami mitigation and education programs, and tsunami research. Dr. Bernard is currently an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington and Scientist Emeritus for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). He retired from Director of PMEL in 2010, after 40 years of NOAA service. He directed a broad range of oceanographic research programs at PMEL including ocean climate dynamics, fisheries oceanography, El Nino forecasts, tsunamis, and underwater volcanoes.

As a noted oceanographer and expert on tsunamis, Dr. Bernard published over 85 scientific papers and has served as editor for three tsunami books. He served as Director of NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu for 3 years, which influenced his research toward public safety. Following the 1993 Sea of Japan tsunami, he led the U.S. team that surveyed the damage caused by the tsunami. He served as founding Chairman of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, a joint Federal/State effort, and as Chairman of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics' Tsunami Commission. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and the Oceanography Society.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

KITTY COURTNEY

Dr. Kitty Courtney is a Senior Marine Environmental Scientist with Tetra Tech, Inc. She received her PhD in Oceanography from the University of Hawai'i in 1985 and opened Tetra Tech's Honolulu Office in 1990. She has over 24 years of experience as project manager and technical lead for large and small projects in marine and coastal management and coastal community resilience in the U.S. and internationally.

Dr. Courtney has worked throughout Asia and the Pacific. As Chief of Party of the USAID-funded Coastal Resource Management Project in the Philippines, she worked with national government agencies, local government, and communities to improve management of coastal resources through capacity development and training. For the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program, she worked with practitioners from six tsunami-affected countries to build coastal community resilience and was lead author of the guide, "How Resilient is Your Coastal Community?" Dr. Courtney leads the climate change adaptation component of the U.S. Coral Triangle Initiative Program, working closely with NOAA to develop a regional climate information brief and assessment and planning tools for coastal adaptation for six Coral Triangle countries. Dr. Courtney led the development of the Hawai'i Ocean Resources Management Plan for the State CZM Program. She has provided technical support to coastal communities in Hawai'i to assess risk from natural hazards and identify opportunities to enhance resilience in their communities.

Dr. Courtney led the development of NDPTC's Coastal Community Resilience Course and NOAA's Climate Change Adaptation Course and now serves as lead instructor.

Courses teaching:  Coastal Community Resilience (AWR-228), Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

GEORGE CRAWFORD

George Crawford is the former Washington State Earthquake Program Manager and has more than 16 years of multi-program design and coordination of local, state, national and international seismic and geologic programs in collaboration with the USGS, NOAA, FEMA and state, national, international and private organizations. George served as the Washington State representative to the US National Tsunami Hazard Program, Western States Seismic Policy Council Tsunami Committee Chair, Washington State/Local Tsunami Workgroup Chair, Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup Board of Director, and the NEMA representative to the ANSS National Steering Committee. George co-developed the All-Hazard Alert Broadcasting (AHAB) Radio that is deployed in US states and internationally, and advises on tsunami community communication issues globally. He has worked extensively with coastal Native American Tribes to link science to Tribal Oral History, and created the "Run to High Ground" video. He has represented the US in international forums and the Washington State Tsunami Program has become a mitigation model nationally and internationally for at-risk tsunami communities.

In retirement, he continues to support USAID and UNDP in Indian Ocean country tsunami missions, collaborate with NOAA/PMEL to develop the Train-the-Trainer Program and Community-based Education Program in Washington State, and assist in the University of Washington Certificate Program in "Tsunami Science & Preparedness". In 2008, George was appointed to the National Research Council Committee on Review of the Tsunami Warning and Forecast System and Overview of the Nation’s Tsunami Preparedness. As the lead contractor for the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, he developed in partnership with UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center, and NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory DHS Course AWR-217 Tsunami Awareness Course. George has written papers on tsunami communication and dissemination, preparedness and mitigation, vertical evacuation guidance (FEMA P646 and P646A on vertical evacuation structures), and continues to collaborate in tsunami research.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

JOHN M. CUMMINGS III

John M Cummings III is the Public Information and Education Officer for the City's Department of Emergency Management. In this capacity his primary duties are to coordinate and administer disaster education training programs for the City and County of Honolulu. He also manages the Emergency Public Information program and media operations as well as coordinating the Emergency Operations Center Joint Information Center during response activations.

John has presented more than 350 community, organizational, and corporate programs and training sessions on disaster awareness and preparedness. In addition he manages the department's disaster awareness, education and training program reaching more than 90,000 residents annually.

Prior to joining the City in 1997 John spent three years as the American Red Cross, National Headquarters Disaster Field Specialist assigned to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, 6-years with the American Red Cross, Hawai'i State Chapter Disaster Services including seven years as a certified American Red Cross Disaster Services Lead Training Instructor from 1990 to 1997.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

MARK DARIENZO

Mark Darienzo is the former Earthquake and Tsunami Program Coordinator for Oregon Emergency Management. He was 1) the emergency management representative from Oregon to the National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program (NHMTP), 2) the Tsunami Committee Chair for the Western States Seismic Policy Council and 3) a board member on the Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup.

He was the lead writer for the Tsunami Warning Systems and Procedures Guidance Document funded by the NHMTP and wrote a Tsunami Sign Placement Guidance brochure. Also with funds from the NHMTP, he helped create tsunami evacuation maps for coastal communities in coordination with the communities and the Oregon Department of Geology. He distributed tsunami signs and literature to coastal cities and counties. He gave several presentations on tsunamis to coastal communities and organized in-state and multi-state tsunami conferences. He also was the lead writer for the tsunami section of the State Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Prior to his work in Emergency Management, he was a paleoseismologist at Oregon State University and Portland State University, searching for evidence of prehistoric earthquakes and tsunamis on the Oregon coast. More recently he was a co-instructor (science segment) for the NDPTC's tsunami pilot class in American Samoa and co-instructor for a National Tsunami Information Center training mission to Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean.

Mark received his BA in Geology from the U. of Delaware, his MS in Interdisciplinary Studies (Geology, Physical Geography and Oceanography) from the U. of Oregon, and his PhD in Environmental Sciences and Resources/Geology from Portland State University.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

DOLAN EVERSOLE

Dolan Eversole serves as the NOAA Coastal Storms Program, Pacific Islands Regional Coordinator. Covering all the affiliated Pacific territories including American Samoa, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, the Coastal Storms Program (CSP) will provide outreach and coordination support to the region by examining the processes and conditions that create and maintain hazard risks (vulnerability assessment), and by identifying technological and socio-economic solutions to reduce their vulnerability through measures that improve adaptation and community resilience. The Pacific Region CSP pilot will support NOAA and partner efforts to enhance community resilience to storm-related hazards and climate change impacts (i.e., sea level rise) in the region. The goal of the Pacific Region CSP is to provide better communications, awareness, and understanding of coastal hazard risks and community resilience such as coastal land-use development and how planning decisions affect community vulnerability and resiliency to coastal hazards and climate change through education and product transition. Dolan earned his BS in Geology in 1996 and his MS in Geology in 2002, from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Courses teaching:  Coastal Community Resilience (AWR-228)

DOLORES FOLEY

Dolores Foley is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawai'i - Manoa. She received her Ph.D. from the School of Public Administration, University of Southern California in 1989. Her research and consulting areas focus on community planning, citizen participation, and governance of non-profit and community organizations. Her current research and evaluation projects include, Kauhale: Waianae Education and Entrepreneurial Initiative and the Community Resiliency project in American Samoa. She teaches courses on community planning, social policy, and collaborative problem solving. Dr. Foley is affiliate faculty for the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and Chair of the Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution.

Courses teaching:  Coastal Community Resilience (AWR-228)

ROBERT FREITAG

Affiliate Instructor, Urban Design and Planning, MUP and MSPCI Programs Director, Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research Executive Director, Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup. After a 30-year career centered on fostering sustainable communities and reducing long term risks from natural hazards, I currently find myself assessing mistakes and charting a new path, while passing on lessons learned to a new generation of risk managers. This has led me to develop and teach several courses in emergency management and hazards mitigation and, within the context of our Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research, provide hands on opportunities for students to prepare risk reduction plans for many Northwest communities. Most recently, several colleagues and I have written a higher education course in floodplain management for FEMA. This course explores ways flood losses can be reduced by protecting and restoring natural physical and biological processes. We are currently researching how natural processes can be better applied to reduce risks.

Courses teaching:  Coastal Flood Risk Reduction

SUZANNE FREW

Suzanne Frew is a consultant with The Frew Group, with over 20 years of experience in disaster operations, planning, and capacity building. She specializes in strategic communications for building community resiliency and sustainability, particularly the integration of cultural and spiritual traditions of high-risk, vulnerable populations.

Suzanne served FEMA Regions IX and I as Mitigation Education, Outreach and Partnership Development Coordinator and Public Information Officer (PIO). On US mainland and island disaster response operations, she worked as Deputy Mitigation Officer, Mitigation Education and Marketing Branch Chief, and PIO. Since leaving federal service, Suzanne has worked as team leader, project manager, SME, facilitator and author with clients throughout the US, Pacific, and Asia. She responded to Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami with the IBM Crisis Response Team. Suzanne holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Public Relations/International Social Welfare from the New College, University of Alabama, and an MFA in Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a founding member of Gender and Disaster Network (GDN).

Courses teaching:  Social Media for Natural Disaster Response & Recovery

DENNIS HWANG

Dennis Hwang is Faculty at the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program where he authored several books including the Hawai'i Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook, which is used in the land use process in Hawai'i. After Hurricane Katrina, he helped produce the Louisiana Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook for the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and FEMA. He was also the lead author for the Homeowners Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards which was produced in Hawai'i, and has been modified or is being modified for Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Delaware. Dennis is also counsel at the office of O'Connor Playdon and Guben where he specializes in Coastal Zone Management Law. His clients include State and local planning departments interested in incorporating hazard mitigation into the development process. Dennis has his Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Rochester, Master of Science in Geology & Geophysics from the University of Hawai'i and Jurist Doctorate from the University of Houston, where he concentrated in land use and property law. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Hawai'i State Bar Association, State Hurricane Advisory Committee and NOAA National Focus Team for Hazard Resilient Communities.

Courses teaching:  Coastal Community Resilience (AWR-228)

LAURA KONG

Dr. Kong has been the Director of the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) since 2001. As Director, she oversees the Center that supports the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) in its efforts to deploy tsunami warning and mitigation systems globally, and that works directly with the 46-nation Intergovernmental Co-ordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS) to strengthen international and national tsunami warnings and preparedness.

Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Dr. Kong has been active in advising countries around the world on how to build robust and sustainable tsunami mitigation systems. Dr. Kong also serves as the Hawai'i State Tsunami Advisor. She is the former Chair of the Hawai'i State Earthquake Advisory Committee, and a member of the Hawai'i State Hazard Mitigation Forum. Previously, she was with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the University of Hawaii's Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics, the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai'i, is a graduate of Brown University and received her doctorate in Seismology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1990.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

DAVE KOZUKI

Dave Kozuki is the founder and CEO of People Bridge, which develops internet based, social media focused software for building neighborhood communities. People Bridge moved to Hawai'i from Silicon Valley in 2005. Prior to People Bridge, Dave was the VP of Business Development and Sales at PacifiCall, a developer of telecommunications software for mobile phones and PCs based in Palo Alto. At Sylantro of Campbell, Dave developed strategic alliances with domestic and international device manufacturers to interoperate with the Sylantro VoIP application server. As a program manager for the Net Generation group at IBM in Mountain View, Dave helped start the international Application Service Provider partner program ASP Prime. He ran a 5 store retail chain as its president and held sales and marketing management positions with Sprint, IBM and Pacific LightNet in Hawai'i. Dave graduated from UH Manoa with a BBA in Management Information Systems and Marketing.

Courses teaching:  Social Media for Natural Disaster Response & Recovery

KEM LOWRY

Kem Lowry is Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai'i. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science, University of Hawai'i in 1976. He has published articles on planning and environmental management, coastal management and evaluation in journals including American Planning Association Journal, Urban Law Annual, Publius, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Policy Studies Review, Ocean Yearbook, Journal of Ocean and Coastal Management, Journal of Planning Theory, Journal of Planning Education and Research and Coastal Management Journal.

He has served as a consultant to the U.N. Development Planning agency, the Asia Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, China-UNICEF, the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, and several state agencies in Hawai'i. Lowry has designed and participated in training programs and workshops on coastal management, capacity building, evaluation and environmental mediation in Indonesia, Philippines, U.S., China and Sri Lanka.

Courses teaching:  Coastal Community Resilience (AWR-228)

CHARLES L. MADER

Dr. Charles L. Mader is President of Mader Consulting Co, and a Retired Fellow of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists, and recipient of the Los Alamos Distinguished Performance Award. He is listed in Who's Who in the World.

He is the author of the book "Numerical Modeling of Explosives and Propellants" published in 2007 by CRC Press. Dr. Mader was the editor of the journal of the International Tsunami Society, "Science of Tsunami Hazards" for over 20 years. He is the author of the book "Numerical Modeling of Water Waves - Second Edition" published by CRC Press in 2004.

His current tsunami research field is mega-tsunamis or waves over 100 meters high resulting from asteroids, nuclear weapons or landslide impact such as the 1958 Lituya Bay Tsunami which washed out trees to a maximum altitude of 520 meters and from 50 to 200 meters throughout Lituya Bay. The latest numerical modeling results using the NOBEL AMR Eulerian code of the landslide impact, wave generation and runup are available on the DVD for the book "Numerical Modeling of Water Waves". Also included on the DVD are computer generated animations of Dr. Mader's modeling of tsunami generation by earthquakes, landslides or asteroids, propagation across ocean basins, flooding of shore lines and hydrovolcanic explosions.

Dr. Mader does numerical modeling and consulting for government and industrial organizations on explosives, propellents, and tsunami waves and gives in-house short courses on the topics described in his books. His web site is http://www.mccohi.com and his Tsunami lectures are available at http://is.gd/4NnP1Z.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

MARK B. L. MARSHALL

Mark is currently the Vice President of the Kaua'i United Way that supports twenty eight charitable organizations helping the people of Kauai. He is also the Vice President of Kaua'i "Life's Bridges" and is on the American Red Cross Council for Kaua'i. He has been a volunteer instructor trainer with the American Red Cross.

Mark is a current member of the Hawai'i Emergency Preparedness Executive Committee (HEPEC) a state wide group working on anti-terrorist efforts organized by the State Civil Defense Agency. He is also a current member of the State's Hawai'i Wireless Interoperability Network Executive Committee (HWIN). He is the point of contact for Federal, State and nongovernmental stakeholders. He was a member of the Governor's task force for beach and water safety. They placed warning signs at public beach parks as a part of Act 190 state law.

He hopes to make Kauai prepared for any event that may threaten public safety. The Civil Defense role is to facilitate all agencies so they work smoothly in time of need. This can only be achieved if everyone cooperates and has a willingness to help.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

ANDREW RUMBACH

Andrew Rumbach is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He holds a doctorate and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and a bachelor's in Political Science from Reed College. His research examines the relationships between urbanization and environmental risk, with special focus on the vulnerability of poor and marginalized groups to natural hazards and global climate change. He is especially concerned with the role that planning plays in shaping geographies of risk and resilience in cities, an interest he developed while working on neighborhood recovery plans in New Orleans following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Rumbach's current research is centered largely on cities in eastern India and the Pacific islands.

Courses teaching:  Coastal Community Resilience (AWR-228)

IRIS S. TERASHIMA

Iris Terashima is a licensed engineer and principal of ITerashima Environmental Services (ITES), a Honolulu-based environmental consulting firm specializing in environmental risk management. Ms. Terashima works with the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies to develop training programs and conduct on-site training sessions on: [1] Environmental regulatory compliance; [2] Environmental corrective actions; [3] Conformance with Environmental Management Systems (EMS); and [4] Preparations of plans and specifications (UFC 8-300-10N Environmental).

Ms. Terashima has worked throughout Asia and the Pacific for over 20 years, and maintains a residence in Honolulu, Hawai'i. She is a graduate of Northwestern University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, and has earned graduate degrees (MSIS and MBA) from Hawai'i Pacific University. For more information on Ms. Terashima and ITES, please visit the company website at: www.iterashima.com.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

KENNETH R. TINGMAN

Mr. Kenneth Tingman assumed his current duties as the Booz Allen Hamilton Site Lead for Joint Task Force Homeland Defense, in August 2011. Prior to joining Booz Allen Hamilton, he was a DHS/FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer for over three years. During his three years as an FCO, he deployed to fifteen disasters across the nation, his final deployment being the earthquake/tsunami in American Samoa, in September 2009. Before joining FEMA, Mr. Tingman spent over 24 years in the Air Force as a communications officer. During his time in the Air Force, he served in a variety of locations and positions around the world, including serving as a military assistant to the senior U.S. Diplomat on the United Nations staff in Kosovo and was the communications squadron commander at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, on September 11th, 2001.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

DANIEL A. WALKER

Daniel A. Walker earned an undergraduate degree (B.S.) in Physics from John Carroll University in 1963, and graduate degrees from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa - an M.S. and Ph.D. in Solid Earth Geophysics, and an M.S. in Educational Administration. During his 32 years of service to the University of Hawai'i, Dr. Walker's research required the installation of seismic stations on islands throughout the Pacific. Teaching experience included work for the University of Hawai'i, the Community College of Micronesia, and the Pearl Harbor Apprentice School. Since his retirement in 1995 he has continued his research, publishing numerous reports on investigations related to tsunamis striking the Hawaiian Islands. In addition he has served as a tsunami advisor to the Department of Emergency Management of the City and County of Honolulu, and has designed, tested, and installed tsunami detection instruments on the Big Island to provide for more accurate and rapid warnings of locally generated tsunamis.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)

BRIAN YANAGI

Brian Yanagi has over 20 years of experience in earthquakes and tsunamis. He is currently the Manager & Disaster Management Specialist at the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) in Honolulu, Hawai'i since 2005. After the December 2004 Great Indian Ocean Tsunami, Yanagi participated in multiple tsunami country needs assessment missions to lay the framework for the creation of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System.

From 1990 to 2005, Yanagi served with the State of Hawai'i - Office of Civil Defense as an Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcano Specialist. He organized the Hawai'i State Earthquake Advisory Committee, State of Hawai'i Tsunami Technical Review Committee, and State of Hawai'i Lava Flow Mitigation Committee. He represented the State of Hawai'i as a charter member of the US National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program in the mid-1990's to reduce tsunami risks to coastal communities, and was instrumental in securing Federal funding for the program's growth. He was awarded the State of Hawai'i - Department of Defense's Employee of the Year in 2003.

Yanagi graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Oceanography in 1979. He also holds a Master's Degree in Human Resource Administration. In his spare time, he has performed as musical theatre actor and a trombone player in a rock and roll band.

Courses teaching:  Tsunami Awareness (AWR-217)