PNNL

Ann Lesperance has been invited to continue her role on the Domestic Preparedness advisory board. Now in its second year, the 17-person committee convenes subject matter experts from diverse disciplines to provide content, feedback, and suggestions for the Domestic Preparedness editorial plan.

“It is always exciting to give back to a journal that has brought such value to the emergency management and public safety community,” Lesperance said.

This year marks 25 years in operation, serving readers in emergency preparedness, disaster response, and resilience. Since its launch in 1998, Domestic Preparedness and its publications have garnered an audience of over 7,000. Lesperance is joined on the advisory board by practitioners from across homeland security, critical infrastructure, disaster management, law enforcement, fire service, and other public and private sector agencies. 

As an advisor in national security at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and director of the Northwest Regional Technology Center, Lesperance brings to the journal a diverse background in disaster response, recovery, and resilience. She also serves on a joint appointment to Northeastern University – Seattle, where she is the Director of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities Programs and has a Faculty Affiliate appointment with Northeastern’s Global Resilience Institute. As a long-time contributor to the Domestic Preparedness Journal, Lesperance welcomes the opportunity to connect with emergency managers, public safety professionals, researchers, and students to foster thought leadership in the field.

“I am always looking for projects, issues, and technologies to highlight from both practitioners’ and researchers’ perspectives,” she said.

As an example, Lesperance recently ‘phoned a friend’ with an idea to highlight unique cybersecurity training approaches. The result was “Training the Next Generation of Cyber Guardians,” written by former PNNL staff member Steve Stein. Stein is the founder of the Public Infrastructure Security Cyber Education System, which is delivering a first-of-a-kind approach to create a reliable pipeline to address the shortage of cyber professionals ready for the workforce.

“In this field, we are always connecting the dots from challenges multiple jurisdictions face to new or emerging solutions that might help,” Lesperance said. “Networking and relationship building are a key part of that process, and journals like Domestic Preparedness help us build those connections and share our information more broadly with the community,” Lesperance said.

To check out the latest issue of the Domestic Preparedness Journal, visit https://www.domesticpreparedness.com/domprep-journal/. To learn more about Lesperance’s and PNNL’s work in response, recovery, and resilience, visit http://www.pnnl.gov/projects/nwrtc.