Dr. Brian J. Gerber is an Associate Professor in the College of Public Service and Community Solutions, Arizona State University. He is Co-Director of the ASU Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security (https://cemhs.asu.edu/Links to an external site.). He has been an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales (Australia), a PLuS Alliance Fellow, and is a Senior Sustainability Scholar with the Wrigley School of Sustainability, Arizona State University.
Dr. Gerber’s research interests and publications include work on disasters and public policy, emergency management, homeland security policy, and environmental regulation. He has held various administrative leadership positions, including directing a policy research institute and several graduate degree programs. He has served as a member of a public health oversight board, has been a member of the executive committee of the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, is an editorial board member of several academic journals and is Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards Governance, Oxford University Press (2020).
In terms of applied practice and knowledge, Dr. Gerber has field experience in response and recovery during multiple disaster incidents, has designed, led and facilitated various emergency exercises, participated in catastrophic incident planning projects, and has conducted key program evaluations and policy analyses on topics ranging from large-scale disaster evacuations to pandemic preparedness. His applied work on disaster management has included partnerships with federal, state and local government agencies (e.g. work with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, the U.S. Government Accountability Office and service with organizations such the Maricopa Local Emergency Planning Committee). He has extensive experience in working with disaster nonprofit organizations, both in terms of research and evaluation and including current service with the Maricopa County COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster). Likewise, he is currently Director for Higher Education Partnerships, ARISE-U.S. Board, a national chapter of the United Nations Office of Disaster Risk Reduction ARISE National Networks (https://www.arise-us.org/), and as a Co-Lead of the Wildland Urban Interface Governance Special Interest Group, a working group of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Higher Education Program.
Finally, Dr. Gerber has served as Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigator, or as Senior Personnel on research and evaluation grants from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, Small Business Innovation Research program (via Department of Navy and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency), U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Colorado Department of Public Safety, and the U.S. Department of Education, among others.