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Instructors

Instructors are practicing professionals who share their on-the-job knowledge with students. They teach both the classroom and online learning formats.

Tom Carlson
Environmental Consultant, Pacific Ecometrics

Carlson is a broadly trained Geographer with an interest in using Geographic Information Technologies such as GIS, remote sensing, and GPS for modeling urban spaces and for landscape change studies. Also included in his interests are human impact, land tenure, and agricultural issues in the Caribbean, Central America and Pacific Islands. His professional background is composed of 9 years of teaching college level Geography and GIS, several years as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for GIS, remote sensing and other Geography courses and 10 years as a GIS consultant. He earned his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of California, Davis in 2003, and both his Masters of Science and Bachelors of Science in Geography from Portland State University.

Bob Freitag
Director, Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research

Freitag worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for more than 20 years. While with FEMA, he worked in a wide range of emergency management activities training and education, exercise and design, federal response planning, and hazard mitigation. He has managed response and recovery programs in over 50 presidential disaster declarations, involving hazards such as floods, storm surges, hurricanes, wind-driven fires, and tornadoes.

John Kobayashi
Clinical Associate Professor, UW Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, Center for Public Health Informatics

Since 2001, Kobayashi has been the foreign advisor for the Field Epidemiology Training Program at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, Japan. He spends alternate months in Seattle and Tokyo, providing support to the Seattle and Tokyo programs, both on site and remotely. From 1982 to 2001, he was the State Epidemiologist for Communicable Diseases at the Washington State Department of Health. He also directed large multi-state foodborne outbreak investigations, and trained over 25 Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers from the Centers for Disease Control. From 1997-2001, he was a member of the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Standards for Foods.

Eric McConaghy
GIS Technician, City of Redmond

As a 2001 graduate of the Master of Urban Planning program at the University of Washington, McConaghy’s academic focus was natural hazard mitigation planning. This emphasis found him doing local area projects ranging from small business resumption planning to a comprehensive GIS inventory of King and Pierce county roadways with respect to hazard events, such as landslides and seismic activity. After graduation, along with his teaching, McConaghy has worked as a GIS Technician for the City of Redmond, compiling data, and creating and maintaining numerous maps essential for fire prevention and operations as well as hundreds of maps for the Parks Department. Surprisingly, McConaghy received his undergraduate degree in Media and Theatre Arts and prior to his current work, designed and managed the construction of theatrical scenery for nearly a decade.

Ed McCormack
Senior Research Engineer, University of Washington, Washington State Transportation Center

McCormack currently manages Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) freight mobility and border projects for the Washington State DOT, including working with Customs to evaluate the use of electronic transponders to track and secure cargo containers. He is also Principal Investigator on a new project to test unmanned aerial vehicles for avalanche control. In the past, he has been responsible for projects that used technology to increase roadway safety, explored the relationship between land use and transportation, and developed transportation applications for a GIS. Prior to his job at the University, he was a consultant responsible for running transportation modeling and network analysis software. He has also worked as a transportation planner for a regional planning agency and as a fellowship researcher in Norway.

Dave Robison
Principal Planner, CASCADIA Planning Services

Robison has more than 20 years of planning experience and has worked in the public, nonprofit and private sectors. He worked as a planner and the Director of Community Development for the City of Port Townsend, where he played a key role in developing the City’s Comprehensive Plan, implementing regulations, and capital improvement projects. Dave also served as the founding executive director for a nonprofit organization and is largely responsible for the development of the Northwest Maritime Center educational facility. Currently, Robison provides land use, strategic planning and environmental consulting services. His academic research included participating in a NSF study that examined local and state mandates used in natural hazards planning. Robinson completed his Master in Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington.

Instructors are subject to change.