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Dr. Ivan Evans is a Professor of Sociology and the Provost of Eleanor Roosevelt College at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986 and joined the UCSD faculty in 1990 after teaching at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa and serving as a Visiting Professor at UCLA. Dr. Evans' scholarship delves into themes of race, political violence, and state power, with notable publications including Bureaucracy and Race: Native Administration in South Africa and Cultures of Violence: Lynching and Racial Killing in South Africa and the American South. His teaching portfolio encompasses courses on modern South African change, political sociology, social movements, and environmental sociology. Currently, his research focuses on global climate change, societal resilience to climate-induced disasters, and the politics of water management in southern Africa. As Provost, Dr. Evans champions Eleanor Roosevelt College's mission of fostering international understanding and global citizenship, emphasizing environmental justice and cross-cultural engagement through programs like the Making of the Modern World.

‍Dr. David D. Oglesby is a Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, where he has been a faculty member since 2000. As the university's first full-time seismologist, he has been instrumental in developing UCR's earthquake research program. Dr. Oglesby specializes in earthquake physics, utilizing numerical simulations to investigate the dynamics of earthquake rupture, fault interactions, and the generation of strong ground motion. His research focuses on understanding why some earthquakes become particularly large and damaging, while others remain small and benign, with particular attention to fault systems like the San Andreas in California. Beyond his research, Dr. Oglesby is deeply committed to education and public outreach. He regularly teaches courses on earthquakes and natural hazards and engages with the public to promote earthquake preparedness and safety. He serves as Chair of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) Committee on Professional Conduct and is a member of the SCEC Board of Directors. Additionally, Dr. Oglesby chairs the UC Disaster Resilience Network (UC DRN), where he leads efforts to enhance disaster resilience education and research across the University of California system.

Dr. Rolin Moe is an experienced education administrator whose decade-plus career has been marked by a dedication to advancing equity and justice within learning environments—especially through distance education and educational innovation. Currently serving as Executive Director of UC Online at the University of California Office of the President, he shapes system-wide online learning strategies. As UC Online's Associate Vice Provost for UC Office of the President, Moe designs and leads initiatives that drive digital transformation, prioritize accessibility, empower educational ecosystems, and scale access to high-quality learning for diverse populations—across both formal and informal contexts. He places a particular emphasis on the evolving role of artificial intelligence in education, examining it not only as a technological tool but as a cultural force that demands new frameworks for learning, ethics, and equity. As an advisor to individuals and institutions navigating AI disruption, he emphasizes human development, civic agency, and universal design.

Rich is Distinguished Professor Emeritus and former MacArthur Chair in Sociology and Global & International Studies at UCSB; he is also Professor at Fielding Graduate University, where he heads the doctoral concentration in Sustainability Leadership. He has published extensively in the sociology of work and labor; science, technology, and society (with a focus on China’s turn to technology-based economic development); the globalization of business; urban sociology; and social theory. He is author or co-author of more than a dozen scholarly books and nearly two hundred articles and book chapters. His most recent books include Innovation in China: Challenging the Global Science and Technology System (Polity Press, 2018) and Achieving Workers’ Rights in the Global Economy (Cornell University Press, 2016). He is also co-author of a widely used introductory textbook, Sociology, now in its 12 th edition (W.W. Norton, 2021). Dr. Appelbaum received his B.A. from Columbia University (1964), M.P.A. from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (1966), and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (1971). He is also Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus and former MacArthur Foundation Chair in Global and International Studies and Sociology at UCSB.

Tamara T. Cunningham is the inaugural Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Initiatives at UC San Diego, where she leads the university's global engagement strategy. With over two decades of experience in higher education, she is dedicated to fostering innovation, inclusion, and transformative global impact. In her current role, Tamara has achieved significant milestones in just two years, including leading teams to secure a $1 million grant for global internships and to establish UC San Diego’s first U.S. institutional presence in Gujarat’s International Financial Technology City, which launched in 2025. Previously, Tamara led the global strategy at New Jersey City University, where she integrated diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice into internationalization initiatives. She co-authored a pivotal guide for the American Council on Education’s Internationalization Lab and contributed to the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Committee on Internationalization for DEI and community engagement. A passionate advocate for equity in global education, Tamara serves on the Board of Directors for NAFSA: Association of International Educators and will host the 2025 NAFSA Annual Conference.

Corey Edie serves as the Managing Director of Community Resilience at BDO USA, LLP. In this role, he contributes to the firm's Nonprofit & Education Practice, focusing on strategies that enhance the resilience of nonprofit organizations. His work encompasses integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles into nonprofit operations, aiding organizations in adapting to evolving stakeholder expectations and ensuring sustainable impact. Prior to joining BDO USA, Corey worked with Team Rubicon and spent over a decade with the American Red Cross in a variety of roles. Most recently he focused on modernizing its disaster recovery program including the redesign of its cash transfer programming. Prior to this, Corey led catastrophic earthquake planning efforts, partnership development and training development. At Tulane University, Corey has developed and taught a number of courses at the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy and the Payson Graduate Program in Global Development. Most recently, this includes the development and facilitation of Leadership in Disaster: Theory and Practice, which explores one hundred years of leadership theory and the application (or lack there-of) of these theories by leaders in the disaster space. International experience includes volunteer work in Haiti, a research deployment to Chile following the earthquake in 2010 and coursework completed in Thailand, Panama, and India. Corey has a Masters of Science in International Development from Tulane.

Dr. Patricia A. Holden is a Professor of Environmental Microbiology at UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management whose extensive experience includes serving as Director of the UCSB Natural Reserve System (UC NRS) and systemwide Chair of the UC NRS. Trish holds degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering (B.S., University of Tennessee; M.S., Purdue University; M.E., UC Berkeley) and earned her Ph.D. in Soil Microbiology from UC Berkeley, bringing over eight years of professional engineering experience to her academic career. Since joining UCSB in 1997, Dr. Holden has led interdisciplinary research at the nexus of microbiology, engineering, and environmental science, focusing on microbial processes in both natural and engineered systems. Her work encompasses a diverse array of topics, including the environmental fate of synthetic microfibers and nanoplastics, pathogen dynamics in urban water environments, natural treatment systems for stormwater runoff, and microbial interactions with engineered nanomaterials. Dr. Holden's collaborative approach integrates insights from materials science, soil ecology, and public health.

Dr. Tuyen Le is the Program Development Officer at the California Education Learning Lab, a state-funded initiative under the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. In this role, she oversees faculty-led projects aimed at enhancing learning outcomes and closing equity gaps across California’s public higher education systems, including the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges. Dr. Le holds a Ph.D. in Geography from UCLA and a B.A. in Geography and the Environment from the University of Texas at Austin. Her academic background is complemented by a Fulbright Fellowship and expertise in ethnographic research methods, content analysis, and policy analysis. Her work focuses on integrating the science of learning and adaptive technologies into higher education to promote equity and innovation statewide.

Erin is board certified in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and an Associate Clinical Professor within the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of California San Diego and the EMS and Disaster Medicine Fellowship Director. Dr. Noste completed her B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara and her medical degree at the University of California Davis. She then continued her medical training with residency in Emergency Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. Following her residency training, Dr. Noste completed fellowships in Operational and Disaster Medicine as well as EMS. Dr. Noste has worked on EMS development projects in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and is the Medical Director for NYCMedics, a global disaster response organization. She previously served as the Deputy Medical Director for Team Rubicon, a disaster relief, non-profit organization and led the organization to become North America’s first classified Emergency Medical Team by the World Health Organization. She serves as a consultant in the Western Pacific Region for countries developing national Emergency Medical Teams.

Dr. Andrew W. Reddie is an Associate Research Professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and the founder and faculty director of the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab. His research focuses on the intersection of technology, politics, and security, with particular emphasis on cybersecurity, nuclear weapons policy, wargaming, and emerging military technologies. Dr. Reddie leads the emerging technology and cybersecurity portfolios at UC Berkeley’s Center for Security in Politics, serves as Deputy Director of the Berkeley APEC Study Center, and is the campus lead for the UC-wide Disaster Resilience Network. He is also affiliated with the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, the Institute of International Studies, and the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. His work has been published in outlets such as Science, the Journal of Peace Research, the Journal of Cyber Policy, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and has been supported by organizations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the MacArthur Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science and Security Consortium. Dr. Reddie holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from UC Berkeley, an M.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, and B.A. and M.A. degrees from UC Berkeley.

Dr. Ertugrul Taciroglu is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  Dr. Taciroglu's research encompasses computational solid and structural mechanics, with a focus on soil-structure interaction, structural health monitoring, and performance-based seismic assessments. His work integrates advanced computational methods, machine learning, and high-performance computing to assess infrastructure resilience under extreme loading conditions such as earthquakes and blasts. He has contributed to regional hazard risk assessments and the development of digital twin models for infrastructure systems. Recognized for his contributions, Dr. Taciroglu received the NSF CAREER Award in 2006 and the ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize in 2011. He was elected Fellow of the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute in 2015 and serves on its Board of Governors. Additionally, he holds editorial positions with several leading journals, including the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering and Earthquake Spectra. His interdisciplinary approach and leadership at UCLA underscore his commitment to advancing civil engineering education and research within the UC system.

Dr. Anthony LeRoy Westerling is a Professor and Chair of Management of Complex Systems at UC Merced's School of Engineering, where he also directs the Management of Innovation, Sustainability, and Technology (MIST) programs. Affiliated with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, Dr. Westerling specializes in applied climatology, focusing on climate-ecosystem-wildfire interactions, statistical modeling for seasonal forecasts, paleofire reconstructions, and climate change impact assessments. He has coordinated the development of long-term wildfire projection scenarios for all five California State Climate Assessments, including the current assessment. Dr. Westerling serves on the Climate Working Group for NOAA's Science Advisory Board and leads the Climate Change & Fire Projections Team at Pyregence, developing statistical wildfire models integrated with dynamic vegetation and land surface models. His interdisciplinary research informs resource management, policy, and risk communication strategies, contributing significantly to understanding and mitigating wildfire risks in the context of climate change. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and International Affairs from UC San Diego and a B.A. from UCLA.

‍Dr. Michael H. Ziccardi is a Health Science Clinical Professor at UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine and serves as Executive Director of the One Health Institute. He earned his DVM, MPVM, and PhD in epidemiology from UC Davis, focusing on free-ranging wildlife health and the effects of petroleum exposure. Since 1996, Dr. Ziccardi has led responses to over 70 oil spills globally, including serving as the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Group Supervisor during the Deepwater Horizon spill. He directs the Oiled Wildlife Care Network and the California Veterinary Emergency Team, and co-directs the Veterinary Access to Care Program. His roles extend to chairing the Global Oiled Wildlife Response System project and NOAA’s Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events. He has also worked as a contract veterinarian for the California Department of Fish and Game, a wildlife epidemiologist at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, and served as Treasurer for the Wildlife Disease Association.

Dr. Ellen Osmundson serves as the Program Director of UC Online at the University of California Office of the President (UCOP), where she leads systemwide initiatives to enhance digital learning across the UC system. Her leadership has been pivotal in expanding cross-campus enrollment, with over 4,700 students participating in 2023–24—a 71% increase from the previous year. Dr. Osmundson has overseen the development of tools like the Credit Review Portal, aiding students and advisors in aligning online courses with degree requirements. Under her guidance, UC Online allocated more than $1.8 million in block funding to support course development, professional growth, and research aimed at closing equity gaps. She has also fostered partnerships with organizations such as the National Education Equity Lab, extending UC's online courses to underrepresented high school students nationwide. Dr. Osmundson's efforts have significantly advanced the accessibility and quality of online education within and beyond the University of California.

Farzin Zareian is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE), emphasizing applied structural modeling of buildings and bridges to advance the reliability and implementation of PBEE methodologies. His work includes the characterization of structural damping, the development of analytical tools, and the integration of PBEE principles into engineering practice. Bridging academia and industry, his research combines a fundamental understanding of structural response with practical design considerations to improve seismic resilience in the built environment.

An award-winning creative director, writer, and veteran of purpose-driven communications, Robin Raj has harnessed the power of media, storytelling, and community engagement to advance social responsibility, sustainability, and climate action for some of the world’s best-known brands and organizations for three decades – from Amnesty International, Bloomberg Philanthropies, NRDC, Sierra Club, Rock the Vote, and World Wildlife Fund, to Levi's, Major League Baseball, NBC Universal, Stanford Medicine, and Walmart Sustainability program. In 2017, Raj co-founded Solar AquaGrid with social entrepreneur Jordan Harris to help conserve water, land, and generate renewable energy at scale by reimagining our water/energy infrastructure and covering large swaths of California’s 4,000 miles of canals with solar canopies.

Rebecca Scheurer is a seasoned humanitarian and climate resilience leader with over two decades of experience advancing disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, and nature-based solutions across over one hundred countries, with boots on the ground experience in more than fifty. Her work spans strategic leadership in global crises—from the Southeast Asia tsunami and Pakistan earthquake to Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy—through to pioneering applied science and community-driven adaptation initiatives that improve lives and livelihoods in the face of climate change. She is currently the Global Lead for Disaster Preparedness at the American Red Cross where she provides strategic and technical support to global and regional teams, mobilizing resources and fostering partnerships to strengthen early warning systems and disaster preparedness for climate-vulnerable populations.

She has previously served as Director of Humanitarian Initiatives at the Atlantic Council’s Climate Resilience Center and helped establish the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance, a global coalition focused on bringing life-saving solutions and policy innovation to the forefront of climate resilience. Scheurer has also served as Humanitarian Director at The Nature Conservancy, where she spear-headed a “Nature Protects People” strategy. She was the Founding Director of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Global Disaster Preparedness Center and held senior roles with USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, including as Regional Advisor for South Asia based in Kathmandu, Nepal, managing major response and recovery operations across the region.

Raquel M. Rall is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at UC Riverside. Before her appointment at UCR, she was a UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Research Professor at the University of Southern California (USC). She has a Ph.D. in urban education policy from the University of Southern California and degrees in Human Biology and African and African American Studies from Stanford University. Her research centers postsecondary leadership and governance. Of particular interest to Rall is research that helps further illuminate the centrality of concepts like equity, diversity, and inclusion to postsecondary decision-making. With her research, teaching, and service, Rall centers equity-mindedness to push issues of leadership and decision-making from the periphery to the core to better understand how the decisions and decision-makers impact outcomes in higher education. At UCR she teaches courses like Critical Issues in Higher Education, Higher Education Governance, Black Brilliance Matters, and Organization and Administration. At the system level, she serves on the UC Black Administrator’s Council and is the inaugural convener for the UC Online Advisory Council. She is the first Black woman to be tenured in and is the first Black faculty chair of the School of Education.

Dr. John MacMillan is the Vice Chancellor for Research and a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where his research laboratory focuses on the discovery and characterization of biologically active molecules from microorganisms. This research has focused predominantly on the therapeutic areas of infectious disease and oncology, combining phenotypic screening, isolation and mechanism of action studies towards the discovery of more than 100 new natural products. This work has led to establishment of the Center for High Functional Annotation of Natural Products (HIFAN), which is a multi-institutional center funded by the NIH to study the mechanism of botanicals and natural products. His work in the area of oncology has yielded a first in-class inhibitor of Hypoxia Inducible Factor 2 (HIF-2) that is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Dr. MacMillan holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis. Prior to moving to the University of California, Santa Cruz he was on faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.