Speaker Bios
Lt. General Russel Honoré, (Ret.)
Visionary Leader of the New Normal and Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina: When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, the devastation was more than anyone could have imagined. Images of the city drowning in the waters of the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain and of the dire conditions at the Louisiana Superdome and Convention Center showed the world that the United States was ill-equipped and unprepared to deal with a natural disaster of such epic proportions. In spite of questionable leadership on many levels, one leader undeniably changed the course of the disaster: Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, the commanding general of Joint Task Force Katrina.
A native of Lakeland, Louisiana, Honoré, the “Category 5 General,” swept into New Orleans, surveyed the destruction and took charge, bringing the city back under control and starting the long process of putting it back together.
With a trademark swagger and commanding personality, Honoré is a no-nonsense career soldier who always speaks his mind. While in charge of the entire Army east of the Mississippi, he brought leadership to New Orleans, reminding soldiers to lower their weapons and help those in need, creating a more positive atmosphere as rebuilding began.
Since his command of Joint Task Force Katrina, Honoré has brought the lessons of Katrina to organizations around the country. An expert on preparedness and responding to catastrophe, he offers insights into protecting people and organizations, outlining the principles necessary to lead through unexpected and uncontrollable crises.
Honoré’s lengthy career has taken him around the world, from Korea to Germany and the entire United States. He has many awards and distinctions, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and a Bronze Star, among others. Recently, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Loyola University (New Orleans).
In May 2009, he published his first book, Survival: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family from Disasters. He also serves as a CNN preparedness contributor; a senior scientist with Gallup; as chairman of the board of Grand ISS, a comprehensive risk solutions provider; and on the Expert Council of Firestorm Solutions, LLC, a national leader in business continuity, vulnerability analysis, risk mitigation, and crisis management.
The man that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called a “John Wayne dude,” Honoré has proven that by taking charge and creating a culture of preparedness, whether as an individual, a group, a city, or an entire country, unexpected crises can be managed and their impacts can be minimized.
Larry S. Buss, P. E., CFM
Mr. Larry S Buss has served as a senior advisor/national expert with the US Army Corps of Engineers in the areas of flood risk management and nonstructural flood risk reduction. Mr. Buss retired from the Corps of Engineers as Chief of Hydrologic Engineering, Omaha District. In that position, he lead a team of 50 people with expertise in such areas as Water Control, Water Quality, Hydraulic Structure Design, Statistical Analysis, River Ecosystem Restoration, Flood Plain Management, Emergency Flood Fighting, Flood Control Design, Sediment/Erosion Control, Watershed Modeling, Flood Warning Systems, Nonstructural and Structural Flood Mitigation, and Hydrographic Surveys. Prior positions with the Corps of Engineers included Chief, Flood Plain Management Services; Chief, Planning; Assistant Chief, Planning; and Chief, Civil Works all within the Omaha District. He has over 39 years of experience with the Corps of Engineers all in Water Resources.
Mr. Buss is also a past Chair of the US Army Corps of Engineers National Nonstructural/Flood Proofing Committee. This committee promotes the development, implementation, and proper use of non-structural flood mitigation techniques including relocation/buyout, flood proofing, flood warning/preparedness, flood plain regulation, flood insurance, etc and provides a source of expertise in the use of non-structural techniques throughout the United States. Documents developed by this committee have been used both nationally and internationally.
He has developed three documents for this committee. They are “Flood Proofing-How to Evaluate Your Options”, “Flood Proofing Performance-Successes and Failures”, and “Non-Structural Flood Damage Reduction Within the Corps of Engineers”. He has also presented at numerous workshops, seminars, and conferences throughout the United States on the use nonstructural measures to reduce flood risk. He is also currently involved on National task force teams dealing with levee security, levee safety, flood risk management, and implementation of nonstructural measures.
Mr. Buss also serves a Co-Chair of the Association of State Flood Plain Managers Committee on Flood Proofing/Retrofitting. That committee is responsible for promoting and providing expertise on flood proofing and retrofitting of structures to reduce flood risk.
Mr. Buss is a member of the Association of State Flood Plain Managers. Mr. Buss has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska. He is a Registered Professional Engineer and a licensed real estate broker in the State of Iowa. He is also a Certified Flood Plain Manager.
Professor Erik Pasche
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Erik Pasche is the director of the Institute of River and Coastal Engineering, and is a professor for Hydraulic Engineering at the Hamburg University of Technology. He is the Dean of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a visiting professor at UNESCO-IHE in Delft. Dr. Pasche is a board member of the German Port Technology Association (HTG), is the head of the German Association for Water Management, Sewage and Waste (DWA) and is Vice Chairman and German representative of the COST-Initiative C22 – Urban Flood Management. Dr. Pasche has been Chairman of the BWK Expert Group Hydraulic Modelling of Natural Rivers since 1997, and Chairman of the BWK Expert Group Movable Flood Defence Systems since 2001.
Dr. Pasche directs the research center KLIFF, an associated institute of the TUHH. It develops technologies and methods to adapt to climate change and prepares the public for the adaptation process through training courses, lectures and workshops. His research and teaching is focused on flood risk management, environmental hydraulic engineering, river hydrology, hydrodynamics, and mathematical modeling of hydrological and hydraulic processes, including the measurement of sedimentation and erosion rates. The information is used in the development of flood information systems and flood defence techniques, such as movable walls, retrofitting of existing buildings, breakwater design, and river restoration strategies.
He was a speaker of the Research Cluster “KLIMZUG-North” sponsored by the German Research Foundation BMBF. On August 28 2009, Dr. Pasche gave talks on flood resilience in climate change scenarios at the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study. He was one of numerous German and South African scientists in the South African Research Lecture Series, a joint event that took place at selected South African universities.
Dr. Pasche has authored a number of publications on flood resilience and management. In 1984, he was awarded the Borchers Plaque for outstanding research in 1984. In 2008, he was recognized with a Distinguished Fellowship by the UK Royal Academy for Engineers.
Professor Chris Zevenbergen
Professor Chris Zevenbergen is director of the Business Development Department of DuraVermeer Group NV. and professor at the Water Engineering Department of UNESCO-IHE with a 0 fte appointment at TuDelft. He has a masters in ecology from the Agricultural University Wageningen and a doctorate in environmental engineering from the University Utrecht. He worked as a researcher on various environmental issues related to the building industry, such as environmental impact assessments, product development, emission modeling, testing procedures, building codes and guidelines in the 1980s followed by 10 years research and consultancy in environmental engineering and water management of urban systems.
In the past 14 years he has accumulated extensive national and international experience with integrated approaches to manage floods in urban environments. His research interest is specifically on innovative concepts to mitigate urban flood impacts, on flood proofing building designs and technologies and on decision support tool development in urban design and planning with practical application in urban flood management. He has a strong affinity with the ecological, socio-economic, institutional aspects of urban planning and water management.
He is co-founder and chairman of the European Network COST C22 on Urban Flood management and the Flood Resilience Group (FRG). He is member of the board of the Dutch Living with Water program, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), the Cooperative Program on Water and Climate (CPWC), and the Dutch Delta Design 2012 (DDD), and he is member of the board of recommendations of Rotterdam Climate Proof and Alterra Wageningen UR University. In the past 20 years he participated in various technical advisory boards of governmental bodies and was invited speaker in many national and international conferences. He has published/edited 3 books and (co)authored about 100 papers, including reviews and book chapters. He is member of the editorial board of Journal of Flood Risk Management.
Prof. Dr. Jack Martin
Professor Dr. John“Jack”Hannon Martin is a specialist in alternative energy technologies and is an active lecturer on a broad range of environmentally sustainable systems. He is a faculty member in the Department of Technology at Appalachian State University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Sustainable Transportation, Renewable Energies, Bio-fuels, Sustainable Resource Management, and Water and Waste Water Technologies, among others. He leads the Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing Initiative in the graduate program at NCA&TSU, and is an Adjunct Professor in Appropriate Technology at a number of universities and community colleges. Dr. Martin holds a Post Doctorate in Agricultural Environmental Technology at West Virginia University, an M.A. in Technology Education at West Virginia University, and a B.A. in Biology and Secondary Science Education at Warren Wilson College.
Dr. Martin is the Vice Chair & Reviewer of the Transportation and Renewable Fuels Division of the American Solar Energy Society, and was a Board candidate in 2004. He is the former Director of the South Carolina Environmental Training Center, and was Program Coordinator of the West Virginia Economic Regeneration Program. He has also done USAID contract work for the Eastern European Environmental Center, and has worked as a consultant for alternative, green building systems. Jack Martin is the founder of the Rural Recycling Institute, Morgantown, W.V., and is the founder and Coordinator of the Triad Electric Vehicle Association (TEVA).
Among his work involving environmentally sustainable energy, Dr. Martin has worked with the returned Peace Corps Volunteers service in the development of biogas and ethanol-powered vehicles; presently, he is in collaboration with T.S. Designs, a company that is part of a co-op that has been producing local biodiesel since 2003. For his contributions to the project, he was recognized as a Sustainability Fellow by T.S. Designs.
Jack Martin is also a keen supporter and advocate of solar energy, having helped organize and take part as an official in the Tour de Sol, EVChallenge, Solar Bike Rayce, SunRayce, American Solar Challenge, World Solar Challenge, and the Solar Decathlon. He served as judge in the NC Sustainable Building Competition and has been involved with the EPA P3 (People, Planet, Prosperity) competitions. He also participated in the Energizing Schools Conference, the Southeast Student Renewable Energy Conference, and numerous technology and science fairs.
He is the 2008 Grand Champion of the 21st Centuy Automotive Challenge for his feat of achieving a fuel mileage rating of 124.4 MPG in a stock hybrid Honda Insight.
