Robyn Fennig has served as the State Hazard Mitigation Officer at Wisconsin Emergency Management since 2018. There she administers the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs, serves as co-chair of the Wisconsin Silver Jackets Hazard Mitigation Team, is a member of the Wisconsin Recovery Task Force and oversees implementation of the State Hazard Mitigation Plan. Prior to becoming the SHMO, Fennig was a researcher for the Association of State Floodplain Managers’ Flood Science Center, served as the Wisconsin State Public Assistance Officer for three years and worked as a Mitigation Planner at WEM. Fennig earned her MS in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa, BA in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and has been a Certified Floodplain Manager since 2012. Fennig is extremely passionate about connecting mitigation opportunities with infrastructure planning and helping communities navigate post- and pre-disaster grant programs.

Derrick Hiebert is the Hazard Mitigation Strategist with King County Emergency Management, in Seattle, Washington, where he works with county agencies and over 50 city and utility district partners to develop and implement the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. Before to his work with King County, Hiebert held the State Mitigation Strategist position at the Washington Emergency Management Division where he was responsible for the creation, monitoring, and implementation of the State Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan and for working with state agencies and local jurisdictions to develop local mitigation plans. He also served as the State Disaster Recovery Coordinator. Hiebert is most passionate about equity and social justice before, during, and after disasters. He believes that mitigation is a tool to strengthen those components of quality of life that are most important to a community. He serves on the International Association of Emergency Managers Diversity Committee and actively supports the integration of equity and social justice principles into plans, processes, and resource prioritization.

Jim Schwab, FAICP, has served as assistant editor of Planning, as senior research associate of the APA Research Department, and manager of the APA Hazards Planning Center. He is the principal of Jim Schwab Consulting LLC, as well as an author, speaker, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa. The Association of State Floodplain Managers awarded him its highest honor, the Goddard-White Award. He is currently serving as chair of the APA Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Planning Division.

Shanene Thomas is a Hazard Mitigation Planner at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 6, with over 18 years of emergency management experience in both federal and state government. She reviews local, state, and tribal mitigation plans; provides technical assistance for all hazards planning efforts, instructs Emergency Management Institute (EMI) courses and is involved in multiple efforts to improve emergency management across the various disciplines. Thomas is also the Tribal Liaison for the Mitigation Division, assisting as the primary point of contact for tribes regarding all aspects of mitigation including mitigation grants, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) efforts to assist in building capabilities for the Region’s 68 tribes.