Our Team

	Melanie Gall, Ph.D., CFM Co-Director Associate Professor School of Public Affairs [email protected]		Brian Gerber, Ph.D. Co-Director Associate Professor School of Public Affairs [email protected]
	Roni Fraser, Ph.D. Assistant Professor [email protected]		Ramesh Gorantla Research Technologist and Software Development Lead Decision Theater [email protected]
	Elisa Bienenstock, Ph.D. Research Professor School of Public Affairs [email protected]		Anthony Lamanna, Ph.D., P.E. Associate Professor and The Penta Building Group Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
	Petar Jevtic, Ph.D. Associate Professor School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences [email protected]		Skaidra Smith-Heisters, Ph.D. Research Analyst [email protected]
	Charles Schmoll Graduate Research Assistant School of Public Affairs [email protected]

Student Alumni

Katie Blessington (2022-2023), Arizona State University 2024'

Jordan Boich (2019-2021), now Senior Data Platform Engineer at DriveTime

Esther Boyle (2022-2024), now Natural Catastrophe Research Scientist at Chubb Insurance

Shaiesta Ehsani (2023-2025)

Tatum Falls (2019-2020), now at the City of Mesa Police Department

Vansh Gupta (2023-2026), now at AI Engineer at Proofpoint

Angelise Khoury (2019-2020), now at the City of Phoenix Police Department

Peiyao Li (2020-2024), now an Assistant Professor at Sam Houston State University

Maria Marr (2018-2020), now at Amazon

David Mejia (2018-2019), now at Deloitte

Michaela Shope (2018-2020), now a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University

Mark Temes (2019-2024), now a Command Duty Officer with the U.S. Coast Guard

Alexi Vogel (2021-2022), now a graduate student at the ASU School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning

Tianyi Xiang (2018-2020), now an Assistant Professor at Peking University

Suyang Yu (2021-2023), now an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield

Yilei Yu (2021-2022), now a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University

Claire Winter (2018-2020), now Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at Maricopa County Emergency Management Division

Former Interns

Luc Bischof (2024), Université de Strasbourg (France)

Angela Duttinger (2024), Verwaltungshochschule Kehl (Germany)

Laetitia Graefe (2026), Verwaltungshochschule Kehl (Germany)

Jessica Lander (2024), Verwaltungshochschule Kehl (Germany)

Hanna Seifried (2026), Verwaltungshochschule Kehl (Germany)

Maja Sorg (2026), Verwaltungshochschule Kehl (Germany)

Past Directors

Rick Dale, 2014-2017

Prior to joining ASU in 2013 to launch the Center, Rick had retired earlier in 2013 as executive chairman and chief executive officer of IXP Corporation. Dale founded IXP in 2000, building it over the next 13 years into an industry leader serving the emergency response needs of government, universities, healthcare and energy clients. The company provides innovative end-to-end solutions for emergency preparation and response including governance, operations, technology and facilities expertise.

During the course of his career, Dale and his company advised and provided solutions to a wide range of clients including New York City, Houston, Portland, Town of Paradise Valley, Brown University, Harvard University, University of California - San Francisco, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Emory Hospital and Constellation Energy. He has led planning, design, implementation and maintenance of emergency response solutions—many of which were industry firsts in North America.

Dale has been a frequent speaker addressing industry groups such as the International City/County Management Association, the Alliance for Innovation and various government groups. He is also an author on the subject of emergency response. His most recent article, Safe Communities: One solution to consider for local governments and academic campuses (Alliance for Innovation, 2013), explains the capabilities and benefits of intelligent video surveillance, the predictive capability of stopping incidents before they occur and the results achieved.

Dale serves on the Board of Directors for Sports Media Network, Inc. He is a former member of the Board of Visitors, College of Business and Economics, Western Washington University and past board member of various nonprofits including Little League Baseball.

Dale holds a bachelor of arts in computer science and business administration from Western Washington University.

Danny Peterson, Founding Director

Dr. Danny Peterson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Idaho. He also holds an MBA, a master of technology, and a Ph.D. in public affairs with a concentration in emergency management and hazardous materials. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and is Board Certified in Homeland Security (American College of Forensic Examiners).

Prior to coming to ASU in 1994, Peterson spent 20 years in the United States Air Force. He held positions as instructor and flight examiner in C-130 aircraft and instructed in T-38s at Williams Air Force Base. Through his career, he also served as chief of air base operability, air field manager, nuclear, biological, and chemical survivability, and as assistant professor of aerospace studies at San Francisco State University.

After retiring from the Air Force, he flew MD-80s for Midway Airlines out of Chicago, Ill. He also worked for the Arizona Division of Emergency Management and still maintains a close liaison with the State Emergency Response Commission and Arizona Division of Emergency Management.