Keynote Speakers

Dr Margaret Cook

Dr Margaret Cook

Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University

Biography

As an historian, Margaret Cook is fascinated by water and its interactions with humans, animals, and the environment over time. She researches waterways, climate, and environmental change, with a particular focus on rivers and floods. Margaret has a PhD in history and is a Research Fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, and La Trobe University. Her recent books are A River with a City Problem, Disasters in Australia and New Zealand and Cities in a Sunburnt Country.

Professor Gavin Smith

Professor Gavin Smith

North Carolina State University College of Design

Biography

Dr. Smith career has emphasized blending practice, applied research, community engagement, and education.  Previous work includes serving as an Assistant Director in the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management where he led the acquisition and relocation of more than 5,000 flood-prone homes, developed a state-wide hazard mitigation planning program that ultimately informed the creation of the national Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and served as an advisor to Governor Hunt on policies and programs associated with long-term recovery in North Carolina.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Smith worked in the Mississippi Office of the Governor, serving as the Director of the Office of Recovery and Renewal.  While in this position, he led the development of the concept and wrote policy guidance associated with the 400 million-dollar Alternative Housing Pilot Program, an initiative intended to test the construction and deployment of improved emergency housing alternatives following Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Smith was appointed as a Senior Recovery Advisor to Governor Cooper and the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management following Hurricane Matthew.  In this role, he led the Hurricane Matthew Disaster Recovery and Resilience Initiative, a team comprised of faculty and students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University focused on assisting six hard-hit rural communities to tackle planning and design challenges that are not traditionally addressed by federal and state agencies.

Smith is an internationally recognized expert on natural hazards, disasters, and climate change adaptation and as such regularly speaks at national and international conferences, conducts media interviews with US and international newspapers, radio and television outlets.  In this role, he has served as an advisor to three US Governors, multiple states, more than 100 local governments, and several nations.

Paula Jarzabkowski

Professor Paula Jarzabkowski

University of Queensland

Biography

Paula Jarzabkowski is a Professor at The University of Queensland Business School. She is a global expert in the public-private mechanisms proliferating around the world to address the disaster insurance protection gap. Currently, Paula is researching how we can transform the insurance market to be a partner in climate adaptation, including how disaster risk mitigation measures can be better linked to innovations in insurance. Paula’s expertise is widely recognised as a member of the OECD High-Level Advisory Board for the Financial Management of Catastrophic Risks; the Lloyd’s of London Futureset Technical Advisory Group; and the Pool Reinsurance Company Advisory Council. You can follow Paula on LinkedIn and download a complimentary e-copy of her latest book Disaster Insurance Reimagined here.

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