2018 Pacific Northwest Disaster Resilience Symposium | Spokane, Washington

Following the successful Disaster Resilience Symposium in Portland, Oregon, in 2017, the CRDR decided to organize another gathering of leaders and decision-makers from across the region to address common issues, examine solutions, and promote information-sharing. The Symposium was held as part of PNWER's 2018 Annual Summit in Spokane, Washington. Co-hosting the Disaster Resilience Symposium with the larger PNWER Summit provided attendees with the opportunity to interact face-to-face with elected officials and legislators and increased awareness for important disaster resilience issues. The 2018 Disaster Resilience Symposium consisted of two sessions: Election Infrastructure & Cybersecurity and Drones.

Election Infrastructure & Cybersecurity
Elections were designated as part of our nation's  critical infrastructure in late 2016 by the Department of Homeland Security. The topic is both timely and relevant to our elected officials who will be in attendance at the PNWER Summit. The session will examine federal guidance for state and local election officials; current threats to election infrastructure; policies to protect election infrastructure; and methods to reassure the public.
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Speakers:

• Eric Holdeman, Director, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR)
• Patrick Massey, Regional Director, Office of Infrastructure, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Chad Houck, Deputy Secretary of State, Office of the Secretary of State, State of Idaho
• Julie Wise, Director,  King County Department of Elections, Washington State
• Dave Matthews, Cyber Expert, Consultant

Presentations:

• Eric Holdeman, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience Presentation
• Chad Houck, State of Idaho Presentation
• Julie Wise, King County Department of Elections Presentation

Drones
The Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) and its Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR) in partnership with Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute (GRI) have been awarded a 2017 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Security and Resilience Challenge grant for critical infrastructure. The project seeks to develop technologies for UAS (drone) employment to technically inspect critical infrastructure in post disaster scenarios.

There is a need for rapid damage assessment of critical infrastructure immediately following a disaster. Emerging UAS technology is allowing for an expedited and detailed damage assessment of  infrastructure such as bridges and other steel and concrete structures within the built environment.

• Current and Emerging Federal and State Policy
• Drones and UAS Impacts on Response and Recovery
• Private Sector Use of Drones for Critical Inspections
• Drones in Wildfire Response
• Privacy Considerations

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​Speakers:

• Robert Hodgeman, Senior Aviation Planner, Washington State Department of Transportation, Aviation Division
• James Yates, Emergency Manager Coordinator, Thurston County Emergency
  Management
• Taskin Padir, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University
• Greg Thies, News Operations Manager, King 5 News
• Tom Hagen, President, AUVSI Cascade Chapter
• Charlton Evans, Principal Consultant End State Solutions
• Jaethan Reichel, CEO, Lightship
• Evan Reis, Director, PE, SE, Executive Director, Co-Founder, U.S. Building Resiliency Council 

Presentations:

• Robert Hodgman, Washington State Department of Transportation Presentation
• ​Charlton Evans, End State Solutions Presentation
• Taskin Padir, Northeastern University Presentation
• Jaethan Reichel, Lightship Presentation
• Evan Reis, U.S. Resiliency Council Presentation
• Tom Hagen, Enterprise Initiatives, Inc. Presentation