Lillian Ramírez-Durand have been a research associate for Sea Grant Puerto Rico since 2003. Within its main projects are Coastal Community Development and Climate Extension. From 2005 to 2010 through a Collaborative Agreement between Sea Grant Puerto Rico and the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research she was also the Coastal Training Program Coordinator. As the Coastal Communities Development and Climate Extension Specialist in Sea Grant PR she provides extension services related to smart growth and resiliency to coastal communities in the archipelago of Puerto Rico. She is in charge of the implementation of the Center of Education on Environmental and Climate Change of Sea Grant Puerto Rico (CenECCA), which provides educational services for high schools students in the areas of climate change and coastal ecosystems.

In 2016 the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center and Sea Grant Puerto Rico signed a MOU joined by a common mission to improve preparedness, relief and recovery of communities affected by disasters. Since that she is charge to work together in the spirit of cooperation and open communication, consistent with law, with the primary goal of improving education and training to reduce the impacts of disasters. She became a certified instructor for the courses AWR-310 and AWR-347 for NDPTC. She is responsible for the coordination of professional development and capacity building training activities related to climate change, resilience, adaptation and mitigation. And she is currently providing these courses in Spanish.

Scott is an NDPTC subject matter expert for social media and disasters and NDPTC course instructor, and a FEMA DCSP Digital Communications Specialist reservist. He’s active in the #SMEM (Social Media in Emergency Management) and #VOST (Virtual Operations Support Team) initiatives, ia proud to have worked with his local CERT Team and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) group, and is past president of Oregon VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster). Scott has also served on the IAEM Emerging Technology Committee, the Virtual Emergency Management Association board, the DHS “Virtual Social Media Working Group” and is team lead for the Oregon VOST.

Jeff Rubin was the emergency manager for Oregon’s largest fire district from 2001-2019. He has worked in science, hazards, and health preparedness at local, state, and national levels, including the Mount Hood Regional Coordination Plan, Oregon Resilience Plan, and Oregon’s Crisis Care Guidelines. In a prior life, he was with Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services, where he was cross-trained as a field medic and call-taker/dispatcher. At ATCEMS he also served as Hazardous Materials Captain and Swiftwater Rescue Instructor in the Special Operations Section, working in hospital preparedness and mass casualty, hazmat, and WMD planning, training, and response. He was a volunteer responder and company officer with Travis County (TX) ESD#4 for 13 years and has consulted in safety and emergency preparedness since the 90s. Jeff has a BS in Geology & Geophysics from Yale and an MA and PhD in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a research scientist and later an Assistant Dean. He has presented at national and international conferences and has published in and provided peer review for geological, medical, safety, and emergency management journals. Jeff served on the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Earth Sciences and Resources for six years, is a Fellow and was an elected Councilor for the Geological Society of America, and teaches in the Oregon Tech/OHSU EMS Department. He is particularly proud to have taught Incident Command for Geologists and Geology for Incident Commanders to separate audiences in the same month.

Andrew Rumbach is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Colorado Denver. He holds a doctorate and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. For the past 13 years his research and professional practice has centered on household and community risk and resilience to natural hazards and climate change, in the United States, India, and the Pacific. His current research is focused on land-use planning for hazard mitigation and planning for the recovery of affordable housing post-disaster, and the protection of historic resources from natural hazards.