ISD is pleased to announce a new suite of courses to support states as they upgrade their community resilience and disaster recovery policies and operations. This effort leverages the expertise of our distinguished ISD Fellows – leading practitioners who have worked on the front lines for many years – to empower communities to prepare for, recover from, and thrive following disasters and economic challenges. We are understand the needs of state and local governments to build capacity with practical tools and actionable strategies that lead to stronger, more resilient communities.
Our Four Core Disciplines
The Academy’s initial phase will support state governments in addressing escalating disaster costs and reduced federal aid, with offerings in core categories:
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Community Resilience: Risk management strategies and tools to anticipate and mitigate threats, (e.g., vulnerability assessments, resilience planning).
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Disaster Recovery: Tools and training for short- and long-term recovery, including housing, infrastructure, economic stabilization, funding and community planning.
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Economic Development: Strategies for sustainable economic growth, business retention, and community revitalization post-disaster.
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Management and Leadership: Strategies for developing public-private partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and other tools for implementation.
Our Faculty
The real-world experience of ISD Fellows is unparalleled. Faculty members have worked on critical infrastructure and homeland security before 9/11, developed national and international public-private partnerships, redesigned regional developmental plans, pioneered state and local initiatives and contributed to the community and economic recovery of almost every billion dollar disaster since 2017. Faculty include:
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Karla Ballard on community capacity building, social capital formation and strengthening trust and community connections through education and engagement.
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David Baxter on international public-private partnerships and developmental issues
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Bill Bersing on management and leadership
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Stephen Cauffman on critical infrastructure
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LC Clemons on empowering local community recovery
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Calandra Cruikshank, CEO of StateBook, on data-driven tools like resilience dashboards and risk assessments to measure your long-term progress.
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David Dodd on economic resilience and disaster recovery plans
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Leann Hackman-Carty, author of Master Your Disaster, on the READI approach to community resilience
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Stephen Jordan on working with the private sector, stakeholder relationship management and whole of society strategies.
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Lynn Knight, Lead Editor of the original 2015 Leadership in Times of Crisis Toolkit for Economic Resilience and Recovery on economic impact analysis, business retention and expansion after a crisis, workforce support and development, downtown revitalization and other sustainable growth strategies.
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Alex Korb on innovative ways to boost financial resilience and unlock new revenue streams via parametric, captive, forecast-based, embedded, and hybrid insurance & financial solutions, including insurance-linked securities (ILS).
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Michael Martinet author of Fighting with FEMA a practical regulations handbook for state and local officials seeking to navigate FEMA Public Assistance (PA)
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Kirsten McGregor, Principal, Sagax Associates, on recovery plans, economic impact assessments and funding strategies.
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Rob O'Brian, CEO of the Joplin Chamber of Commerce during the aftermath of the Joplin F5 tornado, on local long-term recovery issues.
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Scott Sattler, state, municipal and rural economic development and resilience strategies.
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Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy on resilience and precovery strategy, finance and implementation, CDFIs and community development tools for resilience building, coastal community and waterfront edge design guidelines (WEDG), storytelling, startups and innovation.
Through the ISD Academy, thought leadership publications, and direct crisis support, participants can translate this expertise into actionable solutions for state-led resilience and growth.
Enrollment
State Program:
$30,000 per state for four seats (additional seats at $5,000 each) and receive:
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ISD Academy Training: A 40-hour curriculum led by ISD Fellows.
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Practical Tools: Frameworks for risk assessment, grant writing support (including to foundations and corporate programs) public-private partnerships (PPPs), how to set up a small business recovery fund, AI and digital dashboard tools, recovery planning and more, enhanced by national and global expertise.
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Expert Guidance: Access to fellows via the ISD “Ask the Experts” Help Desk during crises.
Individual Program:
$5,500 for core curriculum (40 hours)
$1,500 for course (8 hours)
$200 for module (1.5 hours)