Topic Committees
2023 NATIONAL HURRICANE CONFERENCE TOPIC COMMITTEES
ACCESSIBILITY & FUNCTIONAL NEEDS
Elizabeth A. Davis, CO‐CHAIR, EADS & Associates, LLC, Brooklyn, NY
Michael Weston, CO‐CHAIR, SerVision, Inc., Miami Shores, FL
Georgianne Cherry, Florida Department of Health, Kissimmee, FL
Steve Detwiler, Miami-Dade Office of Emergency Management, Miami, FL
Kathryn Gerk, CEM, Richmond Fire Department, Richmond, CA
Kelly R. McKinney, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY
Jenny Mincin, SUNY Empire College, Staten Island, NY
George Tokesky, Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, Dania Beach, FL
AMATEUR RADIO
John McHugh, CO‐CHAIR, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL
Robert Macedo, CO‐CHAIR, VoIP Hurricane Net, New Bedford, MA
Julio Ripoll, CO‐CHAIR, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL
Dennis Dura, FEMA Region II, New York, NY
Bobby Graves, Hurricane Watch Net, Brandon, MS
Bob Robichaud, Canadian Hurricane Centre, Falls River, Nova Scotia, Canada
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY & ECONOMIC RESILIENCY
Mickie Valente, CO-CHAIR, Valente Strategic Advisers, LLC, St. Petersburg, FL
Justen Noakes, CO-CHAIR, H-E-B Corporation, San Antonio, TX
M. Lewis (Lew) Fincher, CHAIR EMERITUS, Hurricane Consulting, Inc., Friendswood, TX
Kathy Fulton, American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN), Lakeland, FL
Jeff Partin, The Home Depot, Atlanta, GA
George Sambataro, PC Weather Products, Marietta, GA
ENGINEERING: BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES
Laura E. Ghorbi, EIT, CFM, CHAIR, AECOM, Germantown, MD
Tony Gibbs, CEP Limited, Bridgetown, Barbados
Marc L. Levitan, Ph.D., National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Hamid Naderi, PE, CBO, ICBO Southern Resource Center, Austin TX
EVACUATION PLANNING
Jay Baker, CHAIR, Hazard Management Group, Tallahassee, FL
Stewart Baker, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Richmond, VA
Marco Ciarla, USACE, Baltimore, MD
Christina Finch, FEMA, Washington, DC
Dick Gremillion, Calcasieu Parish, Lake Charles, LA
Andrew Sussman, Florida Division of Emergency Management, Tallahassee, FL
John D. Wilson, Consultant, Ft. Myers, FL
Brian Wolshon, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
FIRE-RESCUE/LAW ENFORCEMENT
William Wagner, III, CO-CHAIR, Fire Chief Islamorada, FL (ret), Founder/COO, Early Alert, Inc, Rome, GA
Lisa Watson, CO-CHAIR, Fire Captain, Marathon, FL (ret), EM Director, Early Alert, Inc, Crawfordville, FL
John Baroni, Nassau County Fire Commission BEOCC, Long Island, NY
Brian Head, Cobleskill Fire Department, Cobleskill, NY
Bob Koenig, Public Sector & All Hazard Training, Longview, TX
Victoria Koenig, Ret. City Manager, Longview, TX
TJ Lyon, Bureau of Fire Standards & Training, Florida State Fire College, Ocala, FL
Rob McDaniel, Senior Fellow, Center for Disaster Risk Policy, EM & HS Academic Program, FSU, Tallahassee, FL
HOMELAND SECURITY
Anthony L. Hurley, CHAIR, Critical Preparedness, LLC, Georgetown, TX
HURRICANE HISTORY
Chris Landsea, Ph. D., CO‐CHAIR, NOAA TPC – NHC Technical Support Branch, Miami, FL
M. Lewis (Lew) Fincher, CO‐CHAIR EMERITUS, Hurricane Consulting Inc., Friendswood, TX
Stan Blazyk, Hurricane Consulting, Inc., Galveston, TX
Pat Fitzpatrick, Ph. D., Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
Ethan J. Gibney, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC
Cary Mock, Ph. D., University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
David Roth, NWS Hurricane Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD
George Sambataro, PC Weather Products, Marietta, GA
Al Sandrick, NWS WFO Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL
Gabriel A. Vecchi, NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ
William “Billy” Wagner, Jr., Early Alert, Duck Key, FL
MASS CARE
Katherine Galifianakis, CHAIR, American Red Cross, Washington, DC
Carlos Castillo, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Washington, DC
Mark Cooper, Wal‐Mart, Little, Rock, AR
Jeff Jellets, The Salvation Army, Atlanta, GA
Michael Russell, South Carolina Emergency Management Division, West Columbia, SC
Rick Schofield, American Red Cross, Houston, TX
Michael Whitehead, CEM, COL (USA Ret) American Red Cross, Fairfax, VA
METEOROLOGY/HYDROLOGY
Kenneth Graham, CHAIR, The National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL
Robbie Berg, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL
Brandon Bolinski, FEMA Region IV, Atlanta, GA
Dan Brown, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL
Jessica Fieux, National Weather Service, Tallahassee, FL
Chris Landsea, National Weather Service, Miami, FL
Jamie Rhome, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL
MITIGATION
Leroy Thompson, CHAIR, Effective Mitigation Management, LLC, Tallahassee, FL
Leslie Chapman‐Henderson, Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. (FLASH), Tallahassee, FL
Gavin Smith, Ph.D., Center for the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters, UNC – Chapel Hill, NC
John D. Wilson, Consultant, Fort Myers, FL
PUBLIC EDUCATION/MEDIA
Greg Padgett, CHAIR, Atlanta, GA
Derrec Becker, SC Emergency Management Division, West Columbia, SC
David Bernard, WVUE TV, New Orleans, LA
Leslie Chapman‐Henderson, Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. (FLASH), Tallahassee, FL
Rick Knabb, Ph.D., The Weather Channel, Atlanta, GA
Rebeca Mueller, APR, Voce Communications, Brandon, FL
Bryan Norcross, WPLG TV, Miami Beach, FL
Margaret Orr, WDSU-TV, New Orleans, LA
Greg Robinson, Alabama Emergency Management Agency, Clanton, AL
Nancy Silvestri, NYC Office of Emergency Management, New York, NY
Mike Steele, Government Office of Homeland Security, Baton Rouge, LA
RECOVERY
Teresa Carter, CHAIR, Consultant, Raleigh, NC
David K. Brauner, CDM, New Orleans, LA
Daniel A. Craig, Tidal Basin Governmental Consulting, Washington, DC
Ted Litty, FEMA Office of Response and Recovery, Washington, DC
RESPONSE
Chip Patterson, CHAIR, SDR, Greenville, SC
Ian Guidicelli, Florida Division of Emergency Management, Tallahassee, FL
Thomas L. LaCrosse, Defense Support of Civil Authorities, Washington, DC
Michael Lowder, US DOT, Washington, DC
Mike Patterson, The Salvation Army, Charlotte, NC
Matt Stratton, Harrison County Emergency Management, Gulfport, MS
Randall (Randy) Webster, Horry County Emergency Management, Conway, SC
TROPICAL ISLANDS/LATIN AMERICA
Clive Lorde, CO-CHAIR, USAID/OFDA/IRG, Bridgetown, Barbados
Audrey Mullings, CO-CHAIR, USAID/OFDA/IRG, Kingston, Jamaica
Cecil Shillingford, CO-CHAIR, USAID/OFDA/IRG, Roseau, Dominica
Derek Haines, Dart Enterprises, Ltd, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
John Kimbrough, OFDA/USAID/LAC, San Jose, Costa Rica
Silvanico Pauletta, Sint Maarten Fire Department, Sint Maarten, Dutch Caribbean
UTILITIES
Anthony L. Hurley, CHAIR, Critical Preparedness, LLC, Georgetown, TX
Tony Puzzilla, CHAIR EMERITUS, Retired DHS, La Plata, MD