A native of the Virgin Islands, Roy A. Watlington retired from the University of the Virgin Islands as professor of physics and physical oceanography, researcher and project leader. His training is in physics (BA, MS), science education (MA) and meteorology/physical oceanography ( five years post-graduate study). At the University he taught a freshman course on natural hazards and was a researcher looking for climate-change signals in ocean waters exchanged between the Atlantic and the Caribbean. In the process, he participated in up-to-date mapping of Kick-‘em-Jenny submarine volcano. He serves on the Board of the Caribbean Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing System and is founder and Treasurer of a non-profit named Ocean and Coastal Observing – Virgin Islands, which facilitates deployment of instruments that measure winds, sea state and climate change factors. In 2014 the National Weather Service designated him as a “Tsunami Ready Champion”. In 2021 the Marine Technology Society selected him for its John Craven Mentor Award. He is co-author of “Disaster and Disruption in 1867 - Hurricane, Earthquake and Tsunami in the Danish West Indies”. Other hazard-related activities focus on hurricane intensification, identifying potential sources of tsunamis in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, and on tsunami-generating events, such as the Tonga volcano eruption. As a subject matter expert on coastal hazards, he advises emergency managers and other decision makers, advances ocean observing capabilities in the region and promotes public preparedness for such hazards, but sees himself primarily as one who shares useful knowledge.

Steve Wood is retired after 30 years in the fire service rising to a command staff position. Responsible for the command and control of a wide variety of all-risk incidents from initial action incident command to various functions in the Emergency Operation Center. He has extensive experience as a supervisor and manager in fire, rescue, emergency medical systems, emergency management, and special operations (Urban Search & Rescue, Swift Water Rescue, Air Operations and Hazardous Materials). A member of the California FIRESCOPE High Rise Working Committee along with various other local state and federal committees and working groups. Steve is a graduate from the Unites States Fire Administration’s Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program at the National Fire Academy at Emmitsburg, Maryland. Steve has earned a Master’s of Science in Emergency Services Administration – Bachelor of Science in Occupational Studies both from California State University at Long Beach – Associates of Arts Degree Business Management from Glendale, California Community College. Steve served as the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) Program Manager for the City of Glendale, California, coordinating citywide, county, state and federal response and preplanning for chemical, radiological, nuclear, explosive, or biological terrorism incidents. Development and co-authored the first California Professional Firefighters Joint Apprenticeship Committee (CFF-JAC) – Terrorism Consequence Management Course, in addition to planning, implementing, coordinating and evaluating a variety of chemical-biological-nuclear-radiological-explosive response tabletop and functional exercises.