Laurie (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 and the insurance industry address 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.

In addition to serving on UC DRN’s Advisory Board, 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, and the advisory board of the WIFIRE Convergence project. 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 and was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP) in 2018. 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.