The 2023 DRU National Summit features higher education leaders and practitioners from across the country. Learn more about the 2023 summit speakers and panelists below.
André Le Duc | Ken Kato | Jeff Butler | Krista Dillon | Fred Sabb | Kris Winter
Greg Shabram | Cass Moseley | Bill Curtis | Will Smith | Laurie Friedman | Jennifer Espinola
Richie Hunter | Phil Weiler | Jerry Petty | Keith Frazee | Jennifer Winters | Kay Jarvis
André Le Duc
Disaster Resilient Universities Network Found and Administrator
University of Oregon - Vice President and Chief Resilience Officer, Safety and Risk Services
André Le Duc's focus in both his career and academic research is on developing organizational resilience. Mr. Le Duc is the University of Oregon's first chief resilience officer and vice president for Safety and Risk Services. The Safety and Risk Services division provides leadership and expertise to the UO community on business continuity, emergency management, environmental health and safety, enterprise risk management, geographic information services and campus mapping, public safety and law enforcement, and risk management.
Before working as a senior administrator for the University of Oregon, Mr. Le Duc served as the founding and executive director of the Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience (OPDR), an applied research center and coalition of public, private, and professional organizations working toward the mission of creating a disaster resilient state. OPDR is nationally recognized by the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI). In 2005, Mr. Le Duc established the National Disaster Resilient Universities (DRU) Network, with over 2200 members covering an estimated 900 higher education institutions.
Ken Kato
University of Oregon - Director, Location Innovation Lab
Ken Kato is the founder and director of the Location Innovation Lab (LIL) at the University of Oregon. He serves as the director of the UO's Campus GIS and Mapping Program, the university's official system of record for all 29,000+ rooms, 350+ buildings, and underground utilities. Mr. Kato and the LIL team design and develop innovative, location-based software systems and cutting-edge web and mobile applications aimed at improving organizational resilience and interagency situational awareness.
Mr. Kato is a principal investigator in the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments at UO.
Mr. Kato directed the development of unique software applications for Oregon state agencies, private sector companies and in collaboration with other faculty on sponsored research projects. Previously, he served as the associate director of the UO Geography Department's Infographics Lab.
Jeff Butler
University of Oregon - Director of Facilities Management
Jeff Butler is the director of Facilities Services for the University of Oregon's academic campus. Jeff is currently in his sixth year in this role, coming from a 30 year career in an expanded role as the Director of Facilities at Montana State University.
As a steward of the built environment, Jeff has enjoyed the challenges and successes of working with loyal, dedicated, and collaborative partners and staff to provide the University of Oregon's students, staff, faculty, and visitors with the most safe, clean, and comfortable environment as possible.
Krista Dillon
University of Oregon - Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Operations, Safety and Risk Services
Krista Dillon currently serves as the chief of staff and senior director of operations for Safety and Risk Services at the University of Oregon. In her role, she manages the Emergency Management and Continuity program as well as a number of interdepartmental teams including the Incident Management Team, Campus Vulnerability Assessment Team, and Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment Team, and Demonstration Team. Ms. Dillon has held several roles within the Emergency Management program at the University of Oregon since 2004. Ms. Dillon is a former current chair of the International Association of Emergency Manager's Universities and Colleges Caucus. Ms. Dillon serves as both an Incident Commander and a Planning Section Chief on the University of Oregon's Incident Management Team. Ms. Dillon has a master of community and regional planning from the University of Oregon.
Fred Sabb
University of Oregon - Research Associate Professor, Assistant Vice President for Research Facilities
Dr. Sabb is a research associate professor in the Prevention Science Institute and assistant vice president for Research Facilities. In his faculty role, he studies cognitive brain development in children and adolescents to elucidate biomarkers related to behavioral health and mental illness including psychosis. In his administrative role, he oversees seven core facilities that broadly serve faculty and student research projects. Fred has bee at the UO since 2014.
Kris Winter
University of Oregon - Interim Vice President for the Division of Student Life
Dr. Kris Winter was appointed interim vice president for the Division of Student Life at the University of Oregon in July 2022. She joined the University of Oregon in 2016 and has served in several roles including Association Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students. During her time at the UO, Kris has led countless efforts and programs to support the success, health, and well-being of students at the university. She is committed to improving the employee experience by creating a transparent and affirming work culture.
After receiving her undergraduate degree with honors in Educational Studies from the UO in 1998, Kris earned a MEd in College Student Services Administration from Oregon State University in 2011, and her EdD at Portland State University in Educational Leadership in 2022. Kris has a passion for working with underrepresented student communities and her dissertation is on The Effects of Non-Cognitive Variables in the College Admissions Process on Historically Underrepresented Student Populations.
Dr. Winter has also served as the co-chair of the University BETA (threat assessment) team as well as being an active member of the Incident Management Team and Demonstration & Protest Response Team. Kris is a member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA), and the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP).
Greg Shabram
University of Oregon - Chief Procurement Officer
Greg is the chief procurement officer at the University of Oregon. He leads a team responsible for all procurement and high-level contracting activity for goods and services at UO. Greg also leads the operation of UO's e-procurement system "Duck Depot," oversees UO's PCard program, manages enterprise vendor relationships, and develops and executes UO's enterprise purchasing strategy.
Before his tenure at UO, Greg worked at Boeing Commercial Airplanes as a procurement agent leading procurement and contracting activities for Honeywell systems on airplanes in development and production. Previously, Greg worked as a contracts manager at UO and a civil litigator in private legal practice.
Greg has a JD from the University of Oregon School of Law and a bachelor's in history and business-economics from UC Santa Barbara.
Cass Moseley
University of Oregon - Vice Provost for Academic Operations and Strategy
Cassandra Moseley is the vice provost for academic operations and strategy and serves on the executive team of the Provost and Senior Vice President. Prior to joining the Office of the Provost, she was int he Office of Research and Innovation at the University of Oregon for eight years, most recently in the role as interim vice president for research and innovation from July 2020-June 2022. She joined the UO in 2001 and has had a distinguished career as a scientist and scholar.
Moseley is a research professor in the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments and is a core faculty member of the Environmental Studies Program. Her research focuses on identifying natural resource policies that benefit both the environment and rural communities. She studies wildfire management in the West and has testified before Congress as a natural resource policy expert.
Moseley received her bachelor's in mathematics and government from Cornell University and her doctorate in political science from Yale University.
Bill Curtis
Lewis & Clark College - Director of Emergency Management
Bill Curtis is and experience emergency management professional currently serving as the director of emergency management at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Prior to this, he was the director of emergency management at University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department, where he established the UW System Emergency Management Standard and orchestrated the COVID-19 pandemic campus response. He also implemented a cloud-based data management system for the 26 UW System campuses.
Bill has taught emergency management at Madison Area Technical College and holds a master of science in Threat and Response Management from the University of Chicago and a bachelor of arts in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In his current role, he is responsible for establishing a comprehensive emergency management program, developing a rapid assessment system for crisis communication, and facilitating tabletop exercises and emergency drills to ensure critical personnel are prepared.
Will Smith
Georgia Tech - Director, Georgia Tech Office of Emergency Management & Communications
William Smith joined the Georgia Tech Office of Emergency Management in 2009 and has served as director of emergency management since 2015. During this time, William led the institute's planning, response, and recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic, led planning efforts for many special events and VIP visits, and responded to numerous critical incidents. In addition to his emergency management duties, William was responsible for designing and implementing the institute's P25 radio system, led the Georgia Tech Police Department's 911 Operations Center from 2015-2021 and led the planning and design of the department's new 30k sq/ft building, which was completed in 2019. Prior to joining the Office of Emergency Management in the summer of 2009, William worked as the operations office for the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. In that capacity, he was responsible for the city and county's emergency operations center and worked through multiple special events and natural disasters, including the downtown Atlanta tornado of 2008. A Marine Corps veteran, William deployed to Iraq in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, working as an armorer and mortuary affairs specialist.
William holds a bachelor of science in International Affairs from Georgia Tech, a master's of public affairs from Georgia State with a Certificate in Disaster Management, and a master's of homeland security from Penn State. He and his wife Amanda, live in Decatur, GA with their great pyrenees, Buzz.
Laurie Friedman
Stanford University - Deputy Emergency Manager
Laurie Friedman is the deputy emergency manager with the Office of Emergency Management at Stanford University.
Ms. Friedman began her career as a presidential management intern at FEMA offices in Washington DC, Boston, and San Francisco. Following the two-year internship, she served as the earthquake program manager for FEMA, Region IX, where she oversaw state-wide implementation of federally funded preparedness, planning and engineering projects. After leaving FEMA, she worked as a consultant with a major seismic engineering firm and managed her own consulting firm, specializing in local, county, and public health emergency planning and hazard mitigation.
At Stanford Ms. Friedman works with the Office of Emergency Management team to provide programs, services, and training for business continuity, emergency response, research continuity, and hazard mitigation. Ms. Friedman is an instructor at Stanford, currently teaching an undergraduate course in emergency management and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.
Ms. Friedman holds a BS. from the University of California, Davis, and an MS in public administration from the University of Oregon.
Jennifer Espinola
University of Oregon - Law Dean of Students, Knight Law School
Director, Frohnmayer Leadership Program
Jennifer has 25 years of higher education student affairs experience with a focus on student success. In her current role, she supervises admissions, student affairs, diversity and inclusion, leadership development, career planning and professional development, and all aspects of the student experience at Oregon Law. Leadership development is her passion and has anchored all aspects of her career. Jennifer teaches a course in leadership development for law students ad co-teaches a year-long Leadership Academy for faculty and staff at the University of Oregon. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of South Florida and JD from the University of Miami School of Law.
Richie Hunter
University of Oregon - Vice President, University Communications
Richie Hunter is a communications leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education, healthcare and business, who serves as the University of Oregon's vice president of communications. Hunter oversees the university's communications and marketing efforts, providing strategic direction to telling the UO's stories of academic achievement, student success and impact as a public research university. Before coming to the UO in 2021, Hunter served as vice president of strategic communications and external relations at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Prior to that, she held executive communications positions at the University of Houston, the University of Houston System, and for-profit healthcare organizations. She holds a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Southern California and a master of science in business administration from Lamar University.
Phil Weiler
Washington State University - Vice President for Marketing and Communications
Phil Weiler serves as vice president for marketing and communications at the six-campus Washington State University system. Throughout his career, Phil has held a variety of communications and marketing roles in both the public and private sectors. He has spent the past 17 years focused on public higher education serving at the University of Oregon, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Washington State University.
Jenny Petty
University of Montana - Chief Marketing Communications Officer
Jenny Petty is the Chief Marketing Communications Officer at the University of Montana and was previously at the University of Wyoming. She joined the world of higher ed marketing after a decade in the private sector including a stint working in gaming entertainment where she worked with some of the world's biggest brands including Dolly Parton, Family Guy, Harley Davidson, Phantom of the Opera, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Keith Frazee
University of Oregon - Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff, University Communications
Dr. Keith Frazee leads the day-to-day management of the division of University Communications. He serves as a thought leader and as the principal advisor to the vice president of strategic decisions, and he oversees the areas of personnel, budget, issues management, and strategic planning. He also serves on the UO's Incident Management Team and the Strategic Enterprise Risk Management Committee.
As a first-generation college student, Keith dedicated his career to ensuring that students feel a sense of belonging to one another and to the university so that they can successfully complete their studies and earn their degrees. He has 18 years of professional experience in higher education administration, with much of his career dedicated to student services and enrollment management. He transitioned to University Communications in 2022 from the division of SSEM. He holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education from Baylor University, a master's degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri, and a PhD in educational leadership from the University of Oregon. Keith is married to Dr. Kerry Frazee, director of prevention services for the Eugene School District, and together, they have two children.
Jennifer Winters
University of Oregon - Assistant Vice President Content Strategy, University Communications
Jennifer Winters is the assistant vice president for content strategy at the University of Oregon. Jennifer oversees storytelling, working with content creators across campus to highlight the impact of the UO, its students, faculty and researchers on the UO's Around the O news site and in Oregon Quarterly magazine. She also oversees internal and executive communications and serves as a member of the crisis communications response team.
Her approach to content strategy is informed by her past life as a journalist. Prior to joining the UO she worked in television news for more than 20 years as an anchor, reporter, producer, and news director. Jennifer earned a BA in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Washington.
Kay Jarvis
University of Oregon - Senior Director Media Relations and Issues Management, University Communications.
Kay Jarvis serves as the senior director for media relations and issues management and manages the university's response to crisis and emerging potential reputational issues. She supports administrators and managers across campus identifying and prioritizing issues and bringing together appropriate leadership for the development of foundational language and media responses.
Prior to arriving at the UO in 2019, she worked for 20 years in journalism including as a senior editor for The Denver Post where she led the newsroom's response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and played key roles in other breaking news stories such as the Columbine High School massacre. Jarvis also has served as a spokesperson and crisis communications manager for clients in an agency setting, and for a public utility.