Special Interest Groups (SIG)

Special Interest Groups (SIGs) support the exchange of knowledge in specific areas and applications of Emergency Management higher education. The FEMA HiEd Program does not endorse or manage these groups but encourages their formation around common areas of interest.

To be listed on the FEMA HiEd program website, an academic SIG must meet the following criteria:

• Five or more active members who meet at least twice a year.
• At least one and preferably two members commit to serve as leads or co-leads and points of contact.
• At least one lead or co-lead commits to attend quarterly meetings and submit input for activity reports with the HiEd program. If there is no representation at two consecutive quarterly meetings in a calendar year, then the group will be removed from website.

Anyone interested in joining a SIG should reach out to the associated SIG leads / co-leads. SIGs interested in being listed on the FEMA HiEd program website can reach to the HiEd email address.

• Unity of Effort: Education Standards, Accreditation, and Collaboration
  • Co-lead – Larry Porter, Ph.D., CEM
    Council for the Accreditation of EM & HS Education (CAEMSHE)
  • Co-Lead – James Ramsay, Ph.D.
    University of New Hampshire
  • Co-Lead – Romeo Lavarias, Ph.D.
    Emergency Manager, Miramar, FL
  • Co-lead – Daryl Spiewak, CEM, TEM
    Council for the Accreditation of EM & HS Education (CAEMHSE)
• Case Teaching and Learning
  • Lead – Jean Slick, Ph.D.
    Royal Roads University
• Collaboration, Connection, and Commitment to 2-Year Programs
  • Lead - Diana Culp
    Mid-Atlantic Center for Emergency Management
• Ethics
  • Co-Lead – Sandy Maxwell Smith, Ph.D., RN
    Arkansas Tech University
  • Co-Lead – Shirley Feldmann-Jensen
• International
  • Co-Lead – Ray Chang, Ph.D.
    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
  • Co-Lead – Laura Phipps, DrPH, MPH, CPH, RS
    The University of Texas at Arlington
• Jobs and Internships
  • Lead – Stacy Willett, Ed.D.
    University of Akron
• New Program Resources
  • Co-lead – Stephanie Lipson Mizrahi, J.D., Ph.D.
    California State University
  • Co-lead – David B. Taylor, Ph.D.
    Niagara University
• Race, Ethnicity, and Economic Impacts
  • Lead - Meldon Hollis
    Savannah State University
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
  • Co-Lead - Caroline S. Hackerott, Ph.D.
    North Dakota State University
  • Co-Lead - Mark Landahl, Ph.D.
    Mid-Atlantic Center for Emergency Management
    Frederick Community College
• Science and Technology Integration
  • Co-Lead - Nick LaLone, Ph.D.
    University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • Co-Lead - Sean Ryan
    Northern Arizona University
• Service-Learning and Leadership
  • Co-Lead - Elizabeth Dunn, MPH
    The University of South Florida
  • Co-Lead - Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA
    Cornell University
• Student Perspectives and Academic Learning
  • Lead – Terry D. Cooper, MS, MPH, CEM^®
    University of New Haven in the School of Health Sciences
• Theory and Research
  • Co-lead – Lucia Velotti, Ph.D.
    City University of New York (John Jay College)
  • Co-lead – Ray Chang, Ph.D.
    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Wildland Urban Interface Governance
  • Co-lead – Brian Gerber, Ph.D.
    Arizona State University
  • Co-lead – Steve Jensen, DPPD
    California State University Long Beach