Laurie Johnson, PhD FAICP, is an internationally recognized urban planner specializing in disaster recovery and catastrophe risk management. For over 30 years, she has combined her unique blend of professional practice and research in earth science, urban planning and public policy to help communities, the insurance industry and other organizations address the complex challenges posed by natural hazards and disasters. She founded her consultancy in 2006 and much of her community recovery management and research is captured in her book, After Great Disasters: An In-Depth Analysis of How Six Countries Managed Community Recovery. She also served as Chief Catastrophe Response and Resiliency Officer for the California Earthquake Authority and California Wildfire Fund from 2020 – 2023. Laurie chairs the Advisory Board for the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation and also serves on the Board of Trustees of Geohazards International and the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative. She is the 2024 recipient of the Alfred E. Alquist Special Recognition Medal from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute for her extensive work and dedication in improving the seismic safety and resilience of communities around the world, 2023 recipient of the Applied Technology Council’s Award of Excellence for extraordinary achievement in improving multi-hazard assessment of lifeline system performance, and a 2018 inductee into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP). She is affiliated faculty with New York University’s Global Institute for Public Health Program on Population Impact, Recovery and Resilience and Texas A&M University’s Hazards Reduction and Recovery Center. She holds a Doctor of Informatics degree from Kyoto University, and a Master of Urban Planning and Bachelor of Science in Geophysics, both from Texas A&M University.