Brett Hansard is manager of the Argonne National Laboratory Risk & Crisis Communication Program, which provides public affairs training, exercise support and technical assistance to local, state and federal governments. He has been with Argonne since 2003. Brett has a deep and varied background in emergency public information, having served as spokesperson on stories of national and international significance. He has also performed a variety of roles within a Joint Information System/Joint Information Center. As a FEMA public affairs officer, he worked on more than two dozen presidentially-declared disasters, including Hurricane Katrina. In September 2001, he served as lead public affairs officer in support of FEMA Urban Search and Rescue efforts at the World Trade Center. Previously, Brett served as press secretary and research assistant for the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and as a staff member for U.S. Senator Alan Cranston. He has written numerous articles, speeches and op-eds for political candidates, elected officeholders, senior public officials and CEOs, and has published on various emergency management topics – including “Changing Channels: Communicating Tsunami Warning Information in Hawaii” and “Hanford Site Emergency Public Information Case Study.” He has an M.P.P. from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in Journalism from California State University, Northridge. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Presenter

Subcommittee Chair