Knowledge Sharing Forum: Multi-hazard public information and warning platforms

Jeannette Sutton, Ph.D., specializes in disaster and risk communication with a primary focus on public alerts and warnings disseminated via short messaging channels. Her current work centers on message design and testing across a range of hazard contexts including atmospheric, meteorological, geological, technological, biological, and human induced threats for communication via Wireless Emergency Alerts and other alerting channels.  Most recently, she led the research, design, training, and implementation of the FEMA-IPAWS Message Design Dashboard where she and her team developed lexicons and workflows for 48 hazards, plus All Clear, and Missing Persons messages.  She is an associate professor at the University at Albany and is the founder of The Warn Room, LLC (thewarnroom.com), which provides evidence-based advice on effective alert and warning messages.

Jochen Luther is a Technical Coordinator for Weather, Climate, Hydrological, Marine, and Related Environmental Services and Applications at the Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – a Specialised Agency of the United Nations (UN) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. He started in this role at the WMO Regional Office for Asia and the South-West Pacific (based in Singapore) in August 2023, where he is also the regional WMO focal point for the UN Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative.

Before, since November 2020, he was on secondment to the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), where he worked as a Programme Officer on the donor side on designing and implementing disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programmes. These are being implemented by UN partners, Multilateral Development Banks, regional and non-governmental organisations. From 2013 to 2020, he supported WMO’s portfolio on disaster risk management through programme coordination, implementation of capacity development projects, policy support, inter-agency cooperation, and advocacy work.

Prior to joining WMO in 2013, he was a research associate for eight years at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ in Leipzig, Germany and at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) in Dresden, Germany. His focus was applying scenario planning in flood risk management and on climate change adaptation in urban areas, both as a researcher and project manager.

He has experience working in Europe, Asia-Pacific, East Africa, and Central America. He holds an M.Sc. with distinction in geography from Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany and from Université Laval, Québec, Canada. He speaks German, English, French, and Dutch.

Anni Fordham CF is a communication specialist with a passion for emergency public information. As the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship, Anni travelled the world to investigate the provision of highly accessible emergency information. With over a decade of experience in emergency management and an early career in journalism, Anni has developed significant insight into the communication challenges during disasters. She serves as Chair of the AFAC Public Information and Warnings Group, championing evidence-based approaches to emergency information. Anni has led public information efforts during major incidents including the Wooroloo Bushfire, Tropical Cyclone Seroja and also served as a public information officer for the 2022 New South Wales floods.

Kia Wahl is the Head of Search and Gemini Partnerships for Google Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. With 17 years at Google, she focuses on Search and Social Impact integrations.

Throughout her career at Google, Kia has worked across a variety of business areas and regions, including Search, YouTube, marketing, and commercial strategy. She currently manages content partnerships, integrations, and crisis response features within the Partnerships team.

Before joining Google, Kia worked at global creative agencies like TBWA and Saatchi & Saatchi. In these roles, she advised clients on their digital strategies and helped them maximize the impact of their campaigns.

Dr Karen O’Connor: Strategist, Scientist, Technology Futurist and Missions Architect. Dr Karen O’Connor has more than 20 years’ experience driving scientific change at scale. She has designed and led science and technology programs for Defence both in the U.S. and Australia, the CSIRO, and the Minderoo Foundation.

Karen is currently a Founding Principal of the Earth Fire Alliance, a global non-profit aiming to provide high-fidelity fire data, equitably on a global scale. Her position is Strategic Development & International Relations. She is also Founder of Giant Leap Futures, an innovation consultancy.

Previously, Karen spearheaded the delivery of multiple projects in collaboration with Australian fire agencies, including Spark, AFDRS and XPRIZE Wildfire. She was also a member of the advisory committee for Convective Capital, a world-first venture capital focused solely on firetech. She holds a Ph.D. from Monash University, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Melbourne.

A/Professor Paula Dootson is an award-winning, cross-disciplinary researcher in the QUT Business School. To date, she has been awarded over $5 million to work directly with organisations to understand where their customers, clients, or citizens are engaging in non-compliant and non-protective behaviour, causing harm to themselves and putting those around them at risk. She then designs innovative, utilisable solutions, based in research evidence, to encourage compliant, protective actions, resulting in life saving behavioural responses and or improving overall community wellbeing. Paula has spent over a decade working specifically with emergency services agencies across Australia to improve emergency warnings, cumulating in national awards from industry and government bodies, such as the Emergency Media and Public Affairs national body and the CRC Association for research excellence. 

Andrew Gissing is the Chief Executive Officer of Natural Hazards Research Australia. He was previously the General Manager of Risk Frontiers, the Deputy Chief Officer and Director of Emergency Management and Communication with the Victoria State Emergency Service, and the Director of Enterprise Risk Management at the NSW Department of Family and Community Services.

Natural Hazard Research Australia (NHRA) is Australia’s national centre for natural hazard resilience and disaster risk reduction.

The aim is to deliver usable research and knowledge that creates safer and more resilient communities.

The Centre works in the broad emergency management and disaster resilience sector with partners in all states and territories, federal, state and local governments, key industry bodies, the private and not-for-profit sectors, research and other organisations with a stake in protecting Australian communities.