National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program

Members

In August 2006, pursuant to the July 25, 2006 Federal Register Notice (PDF 60KB), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded an initial 30-day formal solicitation period for nominations for individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR). Stakeholders in NEHRP, from around the United States, showed strong interest in and support for NEHRP by submitting over 85 nominees for service on the committee.

ACEHR members serve nominal three-year terms, with a maximum of two consecutive terms of service before having to step off the committee for a minimum of one year. The initial terms for the 15 original members were staggered, with members serving 1, 2, or 3 years, followed by possible full 3-year second terms. As initial terms ended, NIST, in consultation with its NEHRP partner agencies, has appointed new ACEHR members who are nationally prominent earthquake professionals. The ACEHR membership provides balanced representation from the earthquake professional community, including key technical areas, geographical areas across the U.S., practitioners and researchers, state and local governments, and the private sector.

Lucy Arendt
Professor, Management
St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI
Term Expires: June 23, 2022

Dr. Arendt, Professor of Management in the Donald J. Schneider School of Business and Economics at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, is an expert on decision making in the aftermath of disasters. She teaches courses in strategy and leadership and has published widely in these areas. Arendt is the first author of Long-Term Community Recovery from Natural Disasters (Taylor & Francis, 2014) along with Daniel J. Alesch. She is the co-author of Natural Hazard Mitigation Policy: Implementation, Organizational Choice, and Contextual Dynamics (Springer, 2012) along with Alesch and William J. Petak. Arendt serves as the Secretary/Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI). Arendt holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an M.S. from UW-Green Bay, and a B.S. in Business Administration and Spanish from UW-Green Bay (Summa Cum Laude).

Ann Bostrom
Weyerhaeuser Endowed Professor in Environmental Policy
Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
University of Washington Seattle, WA
Term Expires: October 8, 2023

Dr. Ann Bostrom is the Weyerhaeuser endowed Professor in Environmental Policy at the University of Washington. She publishes on risk perceptions, communication, and decision making, and has contributed to National Academies reports on science communication and risk-related topics. Dr. Bostrom is a Fellow and former President of the Society for Risk Analysis and received its Chauncey Starr Award for her work on mental models of hazardous processes. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Dr. Bostrom co-directed the Decision, Risk and Management Science Program at the National Science Foundation from 1999 to 2001. She completed postdoctoral studies in cognitive aspects of survey methodology at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, after earning her Ph.D. there in policy analysis. s. She also holds an M.B.A. from Western Washington University, and a B.A. in English from the University of Washington.

Robert Carey
Bureau Chief
Utah Division of Emergency Management
Salt Lake City, UT
Term Expires: October 8, 2023

Mr. Robert Carey is the Bureau Chief over the Natural Hazards, Mitigation, and Recovery Bureau for the Utah Division of Emergency Management. He previously served as the Earthquake Program Manager where he focused his efforts on developing a strong earthquake community, united in providing current earthquake awareness to reduce the loss of life, property, and damage to the environment. He works closely with Utah Geological Survey and the University of Utah Seismograph Stations along with partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. After a successful Utah Unreinforced Masonry Building Summit, FEMA selected Utah to pilot a program as part its National Mitigation Investment Strategy called Resilient Wasatch Front 2023. This is an effort to develop a strategic plan to reduce the URM building hazard in Utah. He is part of the leadership of the National Earthquake Program Managers. Mr. Carey holds a B.S. in Environmental Science/Geology from Westminster College.

Gregory G. Deierlein
John A. Blume Professor of Engineering
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Term Expires: October 6, 2022

Dr. Deierlein is the John A. Blume Professor of Engineering at Stanford University where he directs the Blume Earthquake Engineering Center. He has led international collaborative research teams to develop, test, and prepare design guidelines for innovative composite steel-concrete frame systems, self-centering braced frame systems, and seismically-isolated unibody light-frame systems. He is active in technical and building code standards committees. Dr. Deierlein served as the Deputy Director for the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center where he helped lead development of the PEER framework methodology and enabled technologies that have improved performance-based earthquake engineering. Dr. Deierlein received several awards, including ASCE’s Norman Medals, Walter L. Huber Research Prize, State-of-the-Art Awards, the Raymond Reese Research Prize, an AISC Special Recognition Award, and an Engineering News Record 25 Top Newsmakers Award. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2013. He holds a doctorate degree in structural engineering from University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in structural engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Cornell University.

Susan Dowty
California Government Relations Manager
International Code Council
Brea, CA 92821
Term Expires: June 23, 2022

Ms. Dowty brings 35 years of experience in the development, application and interpretation of building code provisions to her position as California Government Relations Manager for the International Code Council. She provides support to code officials, design professionals and the academic community on the implementation and use of the international codes. Prior to her current position, Ms. Dowty was Vice President for S.K. Ghosh Associates, a seismic and building code consulting firm. She is a member of the Structural Engineers Association of California and previously served on its board of directors. She received her Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from California State University, Long Beach and her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Robert L. Ezelle
Emergency Management Division Director
Washington Military Department, Camp Murray, WA
Term Expires: November 13, 2022

Robert Ezelle serves as Director of the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD), which is responsible for leading and coordinating mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities to minimize the impact of disasters and emergencies on the people, property, environment and economy of Washington State. During his tenure, the State has successfully supported the response to and recovery from several major disasters to include the SR 530 Oso Landslide, the record-setting wildfire seasons of 2014 and 2015, and a host of devasting weather events. Robert joined the division in October 2010 as the Homeland Security Section Manager and in May 2011, the State’s E-911 program was added to his portfolio. He assumed his current position on April 1, 2013. Prior to joining EMD, Robert served for 30 years in the United States Air Force and Washington Air National Guard.

Thomas F. Heausler
Consulting Structural Engineer
Kansas City, MO, Bay Saint Louis, MS
Term Expires: January 16, 2023 

Mr. Heausler successfully managed the structural design for projects of all sizes and levels of complexity with 38 years of structural engineering consulting experience. In 2019, Mr. Heausler was named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction. Since 2006, Mr. Heausler has been a voting member of the ASCE 7 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings. He is Chair of the NCSEA Seismic Code Advisory Committee and has performed as a grader for the NCEES National Structural Engineering exams. He taught Structural Analysis and Earthquake Engineering at the University of Missouri Kansas City. Mr. Heausler earned Bachelor and Master degrees (Cum Laude) from Tulane University. He holds professional engineering licensure in 25 states including New York, Florida, and Missouri and Structural License in California and Illinois.

Ryan A. Kersting
Associate Principal
Buehler, Sacramento, CA
Term Expires: May 29, 2022

Mr. Kersting, a California-licensed Structural Engineer and Associate Principal at Buehler has a diverse portfolio of experience in the industry spanning over 22 years. He has experience in the full spectrum of structural engineering services, including project design, plan review, and peer review. He is frequently involved in projects which incorporate innovative structural systems, nonlinear analysis techniques, and performance-based designs. He has also authored and peer reviewed technical publications about various seismic design topics. Mr. Kersting is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, is a voting member of the ASCE 7 Seismic Subcommittee, is a former Chair of the Seismology Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC), and also was the 2014–2015 SEAOC President. He received his Master of Science degree in Civil/Structural Engineering from University of California, Davis and his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly State University..

Anne Meltzer
Seismologist and Professor
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Term Expires: October 8, 2023

Dr. Anne Meltzer is a seismologist and Professor at Lehigh University who studies the structure and evolution of Earth's crust and upper mantle. Dr. Meltzer joined a select group of earth scientists recently when she received the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) 2016 Ambassador Award and was made a Fellow of the AGU. For two decades, Dr. Meltzer has been a leader in developing community-driven science initiatives and in ensuring that community priorities guide organizations such as the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. Dr. Meltzer has worked to expand seismological expertise in other countries, through research collaborations in Pakistan, Tibet, Mongolia, and Chile. Dr. Meltzer holds a Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics from Rice University, a M.S. in Geology from University of North Carolina, and a B.S. from Guilford College.

Danielle H. Mieler
Civil Engineer and Principal Resilience Analyst
Office of Resilience and Capital Planning
San Francisco, CA
Term Expires: July 26, 2023

As a California-licensed Civil Engineer and Principal Resilience Analyst for the City and County of San Francisco’s Office of Resilience and Capital Planning, Ms. Mieler brings her passion for working collaboratively to create a more equitable and resilient city. She manages the San Francisco Lifelines Council and Earthquake Safety Implementation Program. Ms. Mieler was awarded the SPUR 2020 Good Government Award for her work on San Francisco’s Tall Buildings Study. She previously served as Resilience Program Coordinator for the Association of Bay Area Governments and interim deputy Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Oakland. She also worked as a risk engineer for GNS Science, New Zealand and several consulting engineering firms. Ms. Mieler earned a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz. She served as Director and Vice President of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and was selected as a 2012 Housner Fellow.

Lori Peek
Professor, Department of Sociology and Director, Natural Hazards Center
University of Colorado-Boulder
Term Expires: January 31, 2021

Dr. Peek is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder. She is also President of the Research Committee on Disasters for the International Sociological Association. Dr. Peek has published extensively on the sociology of disaster, with an emphasis on the health and social effects on vulnerable populations. She is author of Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans after 9/11. She also is co-author of Children of Katrina and co-editor of Displaced: Life in the Katrina Diaspora. She has received multiple awards for her scholarly publications, her teaching, and her service to the hazards community. Dr. Peek’s responsibilities as a NEHRP advisor include assessing trends and developments in the science and engineering of earthquake hazards reduction, and the effective management, coordination, and implementation of NEHRP activities. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado-Boulder, a M.Ed. from Colorado State University, and a B.A. in Sociology from Ottawa University (Summa Cum Laude).

Glenn J. Rix
Senior Principal
Geosyntec Consultants, Inc., Kennesaw, GA
Term Expires: March 29, 2022

Dr. Rix is a principal geotechnical engineer with Geosyntec Consultants. He has more than 28 years of experience in the areas of seismic hazard assessment and geotechnical earthquake engineering for civil infrastructure. Dr. Rix joined Geosyntec in 2013 after a distinguished 25-year career as a Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He led a large, multi-disciplinary research team with expertise in geotechnical and structural engineering, logistics, and risk and decision analysis on an NSF NEES Grand Challenge project on seismic risk for port facilities. At Geosyntec, Dr. Rix serves as a subject matter expert on seismic hazard and risk for dams and embankments, municipal and hazardous waste landfills, and other facilities. Dr. Rix has degrees in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and Purdue University.

Jonathan P. Stewart
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of California, Los Angeles 90095
Term Expires: September 15, 2022

Dr. Stewart is an expert on geotechnical earthquake engineering and engineering seismology, with emphases on soil-structure interaction, ground motion and ground failure hazard characterization, and seismic risk analysis for levees and other distributed infrastructure. His work has been recognized with a Fulbright Scholarship from the US State Department, the Distinguished Teaching Award from the UCLA Academic Senate, the Bruce Bolt Medal and the Joyner Lecture from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and Seismological Society of America, the Huber Prize and Casagrande Award from ASCE, the NSF CAREER Award, and several best paper awards.  Stewart holds Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from University of California at Berkeley.

Douglas Wiens
Geophysicist
Washington University
St. Louis, MO
Term Expires: July 26, 2023

Dr. Douglas Wiens is an American geophysicist specializing in seismology. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and was honored in 2014 with the Cody Award in Ocean Sciences by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 2016, he was installed as the Robert S. Brookings Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences at the Washington University in St. Louis. He has done extensive research on the structure of subduction zones, the source processes and mechanisms of deep earthquakes, and the structure of the Antarctica. Dr. Wiens has conducted field research and installed seismographs on land and on the seafloor around the world, including Africa, the Pacific, South America, and Antarctica. He is currently supported by the National Science Foundation to study Alaska and Western Pacific subduction zones, as well as Antarctica. Dr. Wiens holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Geological Sciences from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Physics from Wheaton College.

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