In a busy room on the top floor of the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, Professor Robert Orttung opened an afternoon of discussion with a simple guiding question for faculty, students, researchers, experts, and community members: How do you get people to prepare for things that are not immediately on the horizon?
Orttung, Director of the Sustainability Research Institute at the GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future (ASF), joined colleagues from the GW REACH Center, the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention & Wellness (Redstone Global Center), and George Mason University’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth (GMU ISE) to host an interdisciplinary exploration of extreme weather and its impacts on people and communities. Presenters from three GW schools, three research institutes, and the GMU ISE opened with lightning-style talks highlighting ongoing research and emerging challenges.
Sarah Dumas, research scientist at the Redstone Global Center, shared a developing database of state and local level heat policies designed as a searchable tool to support evidence‑based extreme heat planning across the U.S.
Katherine O’Brien, graduate research assistant at the Redstone Global Center, presented a project gathering evidence to strengthen tick‑borne disease prevention and help state health departments identify significant drivers of disease spread.
Erica Gralla, Associate Professor in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, discussed research on hurricane response and vulnerabilities in supply chains. A student-built simulation model examined the infant formula shortage to identify actions that could improve supply and to assess equity impacts. “How do we make sure we’re not caught flat‑footed when the public needs to be served?” Gralla asked.
Orttung presented a project examining wildfires and evacuations in the wildland–urban interface (WUI), a zone of transition between wilderness and a human-built environment. His team is studying how city, county, state, and federal authorities coordinate and communicate with local communities using new technologies. “Hopefully our findings would work in Alaska, and that could be translated elsewhere in the U.S.,” Orttung said.
Justin Knighten, Sustainable Future Fellow at ASF and former Associate Administrator for External Affairs at FEMA, expanded the conversation to resilience and disaster response. “The weather events we’re seeing are more frequent, deadly, and expensive,” he said. “The solutions are multidisciplinary and multi‑faceted.”
Julianna Gwiszcz, Associate Director of GMU ISE, highlighted focus areas including wildfires, extreme heat, and flooding. Her team uses large‑scale data to develop preparedness mechanisms, course models, community partnerships, and improved emergency communication strategies.
After the lightning round, the audience engaged presenters in discussion, with questions ranging from funding needs to community engagement and the role of new technologies. As the session concluded, Orttung emphasized the importance of collaboration across disciplines.
“In our work we often ask ourselves: what are the implications and what does this mean for people's health?” Orttung said. “It’s such a great place to gather this group to discuss this—what better place to serve the needs of communities than in the Milken Institute School of Public Health?“