Veteran owned small business and public benefit company led by former White House, FEMA, and industry emergency managers and risk professionals. Comprised of a talented team of engineers, practitioners, scientists, and academics, Disaster Tech works hard to provide you with the most advanced disaster preparedness, response, and resilience tools.
Chief Executive Officer, Founder, and U.S. Navy Veteran
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Chris Okerberg is the Principal Software Engineer at Disaster Tech. He has previous experience in developing software for asset sharing marketplaces, online training courses, and interactive museum experiences.
With a background in user experience and interaction design, Chris is fascinated by the intersection of society and technology. Chris has used his over 8 year long career in software development to gain a first-hand understanding of the manner in which technology continues to shape how people view themselves, their possessions and the world around them.
Chris is delighted to contribute to the mission of Disaster Tech, and to pursue the next step in the arc of his interest in the positive impact of technology on human life.
Chief Product Officer
Jessica brings more than a decade of design and user research to the Disaster Tech team, with previous clients such as MIT, Cornell University, and the California Academy of Sciences. Her focus is the development of streamlined interfaces for data visualization and collaborative decision support, in disaster and resource management settings.
Prior to joining Disaster Tech, Ms. Decker led a real-time crowdsourcing effort to map community resources during Hurricane Harvey, which quickly scaled to 700 volunteers and gained national media attention. This project was a successful use case in the power of collaborative data, and inspired Ms. Decker to pursue further development of next-generation systems that anticipate the evolving hazard landscape.
To this end, after previous degrees in design theory and science communication, Ms. Decker is currently completing a Master of Science thesis at Lund University, Sweden, in the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation program. This work is focused on optimizing decision support systems in the emergency management environment, and furthers the Disaster Tech mission to provide clear and concise situational awareness.
Senior Software Engineer
Nikko Mitrano Schaff is a Software Engineer at Disaster Technologies Incorporated. Nikko received his Masters of Engineering in Computer Science at Cornell University, where he is pursued disaster communications research with the All-Hazards Preparedness and Response Education Program.
Previously, Nikko worked for Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology as an Applications Developer, serving the diverse needs of over one-hundred faculty members and external clients such as the US Department of Health and Human Services.
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Senior Platform Engineer
Andrew Foster is a Platform Engineer with an academic background in astrophysics, systems administration, and satellite data management.
Previous to his work at Disaster Technologies, Andrew was a graduate student at Cornell University’s Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences, where he used the Cassini spacecraft’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer to study the carbon cycle on Saturn via the use of starlight occultation modeling. Andrew was selected as one of NASA's FINESST grant recipients for this work.
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Chief of Staff
Dana Nottingham is the Chief of Staff for Disaster Tech. Prior to her position with Disaster Tech, Dana worked as a Legislative Assistant at a small government affairs firm, specializing in municipal and county affairs. Through this position she helped to advocate the needs of cities and counties across the country, on issues such as infrastructure, police and firefighter funding, and disaster recovery. She had previously interned in the House of Representatives with Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado.
Board Member and Senior Advisor
Carlos D. Torres has over 35 years of broad Utility leadership experience first as an executive for Consolidated Edison of New York, Incorporated (Con Edison) and then as an independent consultant. As an independent consultant, he has worked on several strategic and operational consulting engagements including being assigned by the Governor of Puerto Rico as the Power Restoration Coordinator for the restoration of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s transmission and distribution electric systems following Hurricanes Maria and Irma, development and implementation of a Business Continuity (or Continuity of Operations) Plans and evaluating/assessment of plans and procedure implementations during full-scale exercises. At Con Edison (and Orange & Rockland Utilities), he served as the Vice President of Emergency Preparedness & Business Resiliency (EP&BR). During his over 32-year career at Con Edison, he also held numerous leadership and operational positions in electric, natural gas, steam, and construction operations throughout the company.
In his role as Vice President of EP&BR, he was responsible for planning, implementing, and overseeing the company’s emergency and crisis management, business continuity and pandemic planning activities. He was responsible for all aspects of designing, exercising, testing, and executing the Incident Command System (ICS). He served as incident commander for many responses as well as the Incident Management Assist Team (IMAT) member for the companies Incident Commanders during major, full-scale events and crises (role of the VP of EP&BR). He oversaw Con Edison’s response to numerous weather events, including major storms (e.g., Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene), and emergencies such as the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 Northeast Blackout. He was also responsible for the implementation and continuous improvement of the ICS leading and supporting the enterprise through not only major storm restorations and other electric/gas/steam system events, but also a labor strike contingencies and business continuity/pandemic events. This involved both drilling/exercising for such events as well as response to actual events As the company’s lead emergency response liaison, he worked closely with federal, state, and local agencies from both the response, coordination as well as from the emergency planning perspective through drilling and exercising (both joint, individually or observation/evaluation). As the continuous improvement leader in the application of ICS in the Utility industry, He has worked on numerous exercises with federal agencies such as GridEx and Clear Path exercises for all types of events including major storm restoration, earthquake/tsunami events, cyber events and physical attacks.
President & Chief Strategy Officer
Roger Coleman is the CEO of Coleman Group Partners, LLC, where he leads deal sourcing and evaluation of mid-to-late stage private equity investment opportunities and facilitates comprehensive industry and company market analyses and valuations to determine return on investment and potential risks. Prior to his current role as CEO, Roger was a managing director for Morgan Stanley from 1989 until 2016. Currently, Roger is President and Chief Strategy officer for Disaster Technologies, Inc.
On October 16th, 2019, Barron’s elected Roger into the Hall of Fame for Financial Advisors. This exclusive grouping of top executives exemplifies Roger’s professional and personal acumen as it is the highest honor in the financial services industry to be named to the Barron’s Hall of Fame.
While at Morgan Stanley and its predecessor firms, Roger’s expertise resulted in his management of more than $26 billion. With demonstrated achievement in identifying and securing new business, implementing large-scale corporate services assignments, and developing a successful high-net-worth asset management practice, Roger has proven himself an expert in relationship management, raising assets, financial modeling, valuation, and analysis for various investment opportunities and for supporting clients in meeting their financial goals.
Outside of his presence as a business executive, Roger is also known for his impact and philanthropy in serving the community. He has been associated with the Plandome Fire Department since 1994, having served as the fire chief between 2005 and 2007, and remains a lifetime member. Roger is also a founding chairman, board member, mentor, and advisor for Tuesday’s Children which was founded to promote long-term healing in all those directly impacted by the events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Our mission today is to keep the promise to those children and families while serving and supporting communities affected by acts of terror worldwide His charitable spirit extends to many other important causes including Tisch MS Research Center, Plan International , The Children’s Aid Society, and the renovation and completion of a 14 acre multi use park and athletic facility named Manhasset Valley Park.
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Senior Advisor
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Io Flament is part of the engineering team at Disaster Tech. She has a background in developing data-driven and AI-powered solutions for research institutions, governments and nonprofit organizations addressing critical social, economic and environmental issues. Prior to joining DTI, she worked as a machine learning engineer at the University of California San Francisco’s Center for Intelligent Imaging, developing AI diagnostic tools to aid medical experts detect musculoskeletal diseases, and optimize diagnostic workflows.
Io is driven by initiatives harnessing the power of technology in the service of society and science, and is an advocate for open-source data and software. She is a member and a former fellow of the Data Science for Social Good Foundation, and actively volunteers for non profit organizations DataKind and Medic Mobile, building open-source digital health solutions that help community health workers in underserved communities identify health risks, optimize resource use, and improve health equity.
Ms. Flament completed a Masters of Science in Neuroscience at the University of Amsterdam, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Utrecht.
Vice President of Business Development
Project management professional with fifteen years of experience working in disaster management for both federal and private partners. Taran leads business development activities that drive production and industry recognition along with program oversight for multiple engagements. Ms. Nicholas is an expert in designing and managing global match strategies for FEMA and HUD funding. She provides expertise to guide senior level policy decisions and manages the review and development of FEMA and HUD projects. She is an expert in leadership, message coordination and communication, relationship-building, and decision-making in support of federal policies, plans, programs, key initiatives, and actions affecting stakeholders. Ms. Roddy has extensive knowledge of the laws, policies, regulations, and other directives under the Stafford Act, Code of Federal Regulations, and OMB circulars. She has managed teams performing the completion and closeout of FEMA grant applications, including oversight of staff engagement with sub-grantees and community stakeholders.
Board Member
Christine Larsen is the chief operations officer (COO) for First Data, where she leads the company's global operations. Her previous positions include service as the executive vice president at JPMorgan Chase & Co; COO for Treasury and Securities services at JPMorgan Chase & Co; managing director at Citigroup; and senior technology manager in Accenture's New York Financial Services practice.
Christine earned a master's degree in information management from Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree in English from Cornell College. A passionate advocate of educational access for all, Christine led programs such as JPMorgan Chase's collaboration with Syracuse University and the University of Delaware, developing cross-disciplinary curriculum to train students for large-scale computing in global enterprises. She co-founded Citigroup's Global Transaction Services Women's Council and founded First Data's Women's Leadership Council, which both provide educational and business sponsored programs to help women succeed.
Senior Advisor
Brian currently serves as Vice President with the Private Client Services Division of HUB International Northeast. Based out of the Woodbury, NY and New York City offices, Brian holds over three decades of experience working with high-net worth individuals, family offices, and mid-sized organizations on risk reduction strategies and comprehensive insurance protection solutions.
Utilizing a highly personalized approach to personal risk management, Brian is recognized for developing creative risk management solutions and concepts unique to each individual or organization. Prior to his current role at HUB, Brian was the Vice President of the Flood Group in Floral Park, NY, until its acquisition by HUB International Northeast in 2015. There, Brian managed a team of personal and commercial insurance specialists to provide a complete suite of insurance/risk management products and services.
Brian is an avid industry speaker and editorial contributor. In 2013, Brian authored a book on personal risk management concepts titled “Wealth Exposed: Insurance Planning for High Net Worth Individuals and Their Advisors”.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from Hofstra University and has earned industry designations as a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate Risk Management (ARM). He holds insurance licenses for Property & Casualty and Life, Accident & Disability.
Senior Vice President of Operations
Board Member
Ms. Franks has over 26 years of professional experience in environmental regulatory compliance and emergency response planning, training, and exercises. She has designed and executed many large (300+ persons) and smaller focused emergency response exercises for all types of facilities and vessels around the globe. She designs tailored training courses in various aspects of emergency response including the Incident Command System, and is experienced at training different audiences from facility operators to emergency responders and company executives.
She has also developed a multitude of response plans for petroleum industry clients, including terminals, tank farms, pipelines, and tank/non-tank vessels. Twenty-five years ago, Nicole founded NJ Resources, the recognized expert in emergency response preparedness in the petroleum industry.
Senior Advisor
Amanda Angelini is a Partner of NAB Ventures.
Amanda’s career, as an entrepreneur, investor and operator spanning startups to the largest financial institutions and corporations, gives her unique insights into the power of founders, their products, strategic partnerships and how the right investors can drive value.
Amanda has founded and led corporate teams and startups focused on sports/media innovation and fintech innovation including Major League Soccer, Gannett's digital sports business and TaxDay. She is also an active angel investor in New York's fintech and tech ecosystem.
Amanda brings a large institution perspective to opportunities as an experienced investment banker at Citi and an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for Citi Ventures D10X and Mastercard Innovation Lab. Prior to that Amanda was an executive with First Data’s (Fiserv) Business Development team covering strategic clients and creating partnerships with payments/fintech startups and companies and manager of Commerce.Innovated, an accelerator in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank.
Amanda started as an attorney at Milbank and Arnold Bloch Leibler. Amanda holds an LLB from Queensland University of Technology, and finance and marketing degrees from Securities Institute of Australia and New York University.
Board Member
Nivi Achanta is a social entrepreneur and former technology consultant from the San Francisco Bay Area. Through her startup, Soapbox Project, she helps busy millennials fight climate change from their inbox in 3 minutes every week.
Previously, when she worked as a consultant at Accenture, Nivi led Northern California's disaster technology efforts. She led a team of 8 consultants to Butte County after the 2018 Camp Fire, the most destructive in California history. They spent a month researching community-powered disaster response and understanding how it can be boosted with a stronger alliance between tech, government, and non-profit.
In 2019, she shared a stage with Accenture CEO Julie Sweet to discuss empathetic leadership in times of disaster. Nivi's work at Accenture culminated in Summer 2020, when she hosted a tactical cross-industry wildfire workshop with leaders and input from the California Office of Emergency Management, Google, Splunk, the Moore Foundation, Disaster Tech, and more. Under her leadership, these organizations worked together to uncover how they could support safe evacuations for Californians with access and functional needs.
After leaving Accenture, Nivi is working full-time on Soapbox Project, finding new ways to civically engage corporate employees and make it easier for them to give back. In her free time, she takes classes at Circus Center, spends time with friends, explores new places, and tries not to kill her plants.
Board Member
John Cahalane is a Managing Director and Head of Tradeweb Direct, one of the largest fixed income marketplaces in the U.S. for financial advisors, sell-side traders and buy-side investors. He is also a member of the firm’s Operating Committee. Cahalane has extensive knowledge of electronic fixed income markets from over a decade of experience focused in electronic trading.
As Head of Tradeweb Direct, Cahalane is responsible for retail and middle market trading in Municipal Bonds, U.S. Corporate Bonds and Certificates of Deposits (CDs). He also oversees the business’ platform enhancements, sales channel expansion and client system integration.
Cahalane joined Tradeweb in 2010 as Head of Tradeweb Retail, and focused his efforts on restructuring and growing the business. In 2013, he led the acquisition of BondDesk Group LLC, integrating the business with Tradeweb Retail to create Tradeweb Direct.
Previously, Cahalane held several fixed income positions at Morgan Stanley, including Executive Director and Director of Third-Party Distribution for Capital Markets and Vice President, Director of E-Commerce.
Cahalane serves as the Chairman of the Board for Tuesday’s Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the 9/11 community and communities worldwide affected by terrorism and traumatic loss including Military Families of the Fallen.
Cahalane received a B.S. from the University of Scranton. He holds his FINRA Series 7, Series 24, Series 53 and Series 63 licenses.
Senior Advisor
Brian Barnier brings a long history of experience in emergency management, communications and business continuity. He is currently the director and head of analytics at ValueBridge Advisors (US) and Burnt Oak Capital (UK) and a Senior Advisor for Disaster Tech.
In his telecom career, Brian was the representative of his local exchange carrier to public safety communications centers from New York City to California. This included the exchange carrier’s connections to emergency centers and providing managed services to customers. He then led product management for the 9-1-1 group at Lucent Technology with its roots in the creation of 9-1-1. There, he led teams to 6 patents for emergency and location-based calling. Brian also led product management for services in the IBM Business Resilience organization. He holds a US FEMA Incident Command Certificate with the hospital specialty.
Beyond this, he has worked to bridge business continuity with other areas of managing risk in business operations including as the author of The Operational Risk Handbook, from Harriman House in the UK and a contributor to the book Risk and Performance: Guide for Government Decision Makers published by Wiley. Additionally, he served on the team that created ISACA’s Risk IT based on COBIT for their 100,000 members and was the public face of that initiative in North America and led the sub-team for business continuity for the Shared Assessment Program criteria used in the outsourcing industry.
Brian is the past co-chair of the Corporate Risk Oversight Committee of International Corporate Governance Network. The ICGN is a membership organization for investors with over 26 trillion dollars of assets under management.
As a part time academic, Brian has taught graduate operations management at the University of Detroit Mercy and currently teaches graduate data analytics at the City University of New York.
Vice President of Client Success
Michael currently serves as the Vice President of Client Success at Disaster Tech. He has over 16 years of experience working in the fields of homeland security, public safety, public health, and emergency management.
Prior to joining Disaster Tech, Michael served as the lead public health emergency planner for the City of Boston, where he oversaw a portfolio that included public and private partnerships, emergency operations management, and comprehensive plan development and maintenance. He has extensive history advising senior officials and developing successful partnerships and coalitions across jurisdictions, levels of government, and community partners. He has led efforts to develop and implemented nationally recognized projects, policies, and systems that have improved emergency preparedness and response within the City of Boston.
Michael helped build out operational protocols for Boston’s Stephen Lawler Medical Intelligence Center, a unique national model for integrating healthcare, medical, and public health preparedness and response operations. He responded to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, and authored the official health and medical After-Action Report to the incident. And he has drafted response plans for numerous large -scale public health emergencies, including H1N1, Ebola, and most recently, Covid-19.
He recently graduated with his M.P.A. from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he received a fellowship through the Center of Public Leadership, and was nominated by his peers for the Littauer Award for public service. He also holds an M.B.A. from Boston University, and a B.A. from Stonehill College. He is professionally certified in emergency management (CEM), project management (PMP), and business continuity (CBCP).
He lives in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston with his wife Cristina, and their daughters Maia (8) and Mae (5).
Board Member
Daniel Zaragoza is a retired utility executive with over 40 years of extensive electric operations experience, specializing in electric transmission and distribution operations, emergency management and fire risk mitigation.
Prior to retiring in early 2017, Zaragoza was Director of Emergency Management for San Diego Gas & Electric, one of Sempra Energy’s regulated California utilities serving 3.6 million customers in San Diego and Southern Orange Counties. In this role, Zaragoza was responsible for managing and executing the utility’s response to major emergencies that had the potential to cause severe customer and infrastructure impacts to the gas and electric system in San Diego – the second largest city in the state of California.
Zaragoza managed both the Fire Coordination and Meteorological teams to ensure operational decisions were made using data and expertise from weather and fire mitigation experts. As part of the company’s commitment to keeping the communities it serves safe, Zaragoza was instrumental in developing one of the most comprehensive and robust fire risk mitigation programs in the industry designed to improve grid resiliency. This included significant strategic investments to fire-harden the power grid, increase situational awareness, update operating protocols and enhance the region’s ability to respond to wildfires. Under his leadership, Zaragoza launched the Meteorology team which continues to play a critical role in identifying mitigating solutions to the challenges of a dramatically changing climate.
Zaragoza has an extensive background in the electric sector, a rapidly changing industry that is currently undergoing a major transformation as power providers try to meet stringent state goals to reach renewable energy mandates. As a former director of electric distribution operations, Zaragoza managed a power grid serving millions of people, pioneered the launch of technologies and programs that would enhance employee and public safety, reliability and help reduce climate and weather-related risks and vulnerabilities, such as wildfire. Under his leadership, SDG&E was recognized as a best-in-class, award-winning reliability program enhancing customer satisfaction.
During his tenure, Zaragoza helped lay the foundation for a more resilient grid by partnering with the public and private sectors, academia and government agencies to accelerate investments in technologies, practices, and policies. Some examples include the development and deployment of America’s largest utility-owned weather network, deploying major capital projects, and working to become the first utility in the nation to obtain FAA approval to test fly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) in select test areas.
Media and Marketing Manager
Emily Kian is the Media and Marketing Manager at Disaster Tech. Prior to joining the Disaster Tech team, Emily worked as the CMO of her own startup, Phyta, a seaweed cultivation company that created sustainable ingredients for consumer products while combating nutrient pollution and the climate crisis. With Phyta, Emily and her co-founders built the first seaweed farm in North Carolina, earned finalist status in numerous regional and global pitch competitions, garnered national media attention, and presented at the United Nations as one of six finalists for the international Hult Prize competition. Emily also spent a year working for Atoll Marine Centre (a local non-profit in the Maldives) gaining experience in sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation, marketing and fundraising, and community education and outreach. A skilled science communicator and social entrepreneur, Emily is excited to be part of a team that bridges the gap between science, business, and empathy.
Emily graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies.
Marketing Executive
Laurie has over 30 years of software and technology industry experience with high-growth start-ups, emerging leaders, and global powerhouse brands. Her primary areas of expertise include branding, enterprise marketing, integrated communications, corporate relations, product strategy, and revenue partnerships in innovative, nascent, and highly specialized organizations.
Her track record includes 7 years with PwC (“Big 5” Consulting), 8 years with Fortune 500, and 15 years with private companies climbing from <$100M ARR to IPO, M&A or other highly successful exits.
Laurie began her career with Price Waterhouse LLP (now IBM Global Services) focused on large scale financial management systems development, analysis, requirements, system testing, user training, and implementations for the U.S. Department of State, State of Oregon Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Commerce (NOAA, ITA, SBA, Census et al), and other agencies. She has consulted for numerous CEOs and held executive roles with PwC, Verizon, webMethods/SoftwareAG, Deltek, and NeoSystems. Laurie also served on the Boards of both the Government Business Executive Forum (GBEF) and Consumer Electronics Show Government (CESG) from 2013-2017.
Over the course of her career, Laurie has been responsible for infamous and groundbreaking marketing campaigns, alliances, and organizational milestones including: Friends & Family (MCI – now Verizon), most successful IPO in NASDAQ history (webMethods – now SoftwareAG), American Red Cross’s 1stever corporate sponsorships, Inc. 5000 America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies 6 and 7-Time Awardees, 2-Time E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, Deltek’s 1st Global Partnership Program, and she worked for Dr. Craig Venter before he was listed on Time magazine's 2007 and 2008 Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
Over the last few years, Laurie has been dedicated to accelerating collaboration between private industry (Defense Industrial Sector, National Security Innovation Base, ) and whole-of-government (DoD, Military, Federal Government) on cutting-edge technology capabilities (AI/ML, Data Analytics, Cyber, Cloud) that can address national security, international stability, and government transformation issues.
Laurie is married to a U.S. Navy veteran who is an international trade attorney and serves on the Board of the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP). Their family consists of two daughters, a large golden retriever, and a rescue tabby cat.
Board Member
Senior Advisor
Stephen brings 32 years of senior military leadership in Special Operations, combat operations and Department of Defense resource programing. He is currently the Chief Business Officer for Summit Technology Laboratory (STL), a deep-tech start up specializing in automated precision projected light and its application to multiple market segments. Stephen serves as an Independent Director for two companies, Education Loan Finance dba ELFI, a not-for-profit financial holding company and Support Systems Associates Inc, a small defense contractor. Stephen also serves on the Board of the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation (JAJF.org) a national non profit who’s mission is “Treating families to WOW! Experiences®, giving children who will lose their Mom or Dad to cancer a timeout to create indispensable memories as a family… while they can”.
Prior to his retirement from the military, he was the Director of Programs for the United States Air Force leading the development, justification, and consolidation of the Air Forces five-year resource allocation plan totaling over $800B. Previously, Stephen served as the Director of Plans, Programs, Requirements, and Manpower for the United States Special Operations Command leading the development and consolidation USSOCOM's five component Commands integrated resource plans. He also served as the Deputy Commanding General of the Joint Special Operations Command. Stephen has commanded at the Squadron, Group,Wing level. During his command of the 27th Special Operations Wing he was responsible for over 4000 Airmen, Civilians and their families, $15B worth of infrastructure and aircraft, a multi-year construction program worth $1.5B, the operations of a military base, airfield, training range, and the execution of over 5000 combat hours globally. He has deployed in support of operations in Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and other classified operations.
Stephen earned his bachelor!s degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee, Masters in Public Administration from Troy State, Masters in National Security from the Naval War College, and was a Senior Defense Fellow at Harvard!s Center for International Affairs. He is a command pilot with over 3300 hours primarily in the AC-130H/U Gunship. Stephen is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and the Great Falls Rotary Club. He is an avid cyclist, skier, and enjoys fly fishing. Stephen and his wife Cynthia have two grown daughters Shelby and Sydney and reside in Herndon Virginia.
Research Intern
Alexa Lorillard is a graduate student in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, seeking an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy. She joins Disaster Tech as a part-time intern, researching energy. Prior to Disaster Tech, Alexa worked as a Programs and Development Associate at the Global Warming Mitigation Project and as a Research Assistant at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. In her free time, she enjoys biking, cooking, and anything outside!
Board Member
Prior to serving as Senior Advisor with Disaster Tech, Doug served at the White House as the eighth Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to the President and Deputy Assistant to the President. During that assignment, Doug also served concurrently as the acting Deputy National Security Advisor for four months. In earlier National Security Council assignments, he served as the Senior Director for Resilience Policy and Director for Central American and the Caribbean. Doug also served time in the U.S. Coast Guard as a ship driver, serving in eight ships, including as commanding officer for the cutters Hamilton, Diligence, and Sitkinak. Doug retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2022 as a Rear Admiral. Doug is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations: his research interests include emerging threats to global security and the U.S. interagency. Doug has an MPA from Harvard, an MA from the U.S. Naval War College, and a BS from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Board Member
Mr. Harpel is a serial entrepreneur. He is currently a general partner of both Palm Beach Capital, a mid-range Private equity firm; and of First Reserve Corp, a large energy related private equity firm—both of which he helped found. Additionally, he is also a founder and Senior Partner of Two Road Development a substantial real estate development company in Florida.
He is also involved in a series or ventures ranging from a revolutionary vaccine company to a fintech mortgage software company. He enjoys the challenge of solving problems and building companies. Over the years he was also a well-known successful money manager and even a corporate turnaround manager at a young age.
Mr. Harpel has been very involved with Harvard for many years. He started and sponsored a multiyear, interfaculty substance abuse research group. On the Board of The Kennedy School of Government, he has an endowed Chair at the School. He was on the Dana Farber Board for many years and has been on The Belfer Center Board at Harvard for many years.
He also ran an International Council for the Harris School of Government at the University of Chicago for about ten years. In Addition, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
In Palm Beach, Mr. Harpel is on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Kravis Center.
With grandparents who emigrated from Russia in the 1880’s, Mr. Harpel is always conscious of the role Ellis Island has played in enriching the country.
101 N Union Street, Suite 204, Alexandria, VA 22314
(202) 838-3176