Jennifer Carlson, Ph.D., CEM® (1977-present) was born and raised primarily in her hometown, Springfield, MA. For over 20 years Dr. Carlson has dedicated her life in service to the emergency management field, deploying on disasters from hurricane Katrina to the Boston Marathon bombings through the American Red Cross and the State of Massachusetts, and working as faculty and teaching staff for emergency management courses, workshops and Homeland Security content at MIT for FEMA, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Eastern Kentucky University, and at other locations across the country while deployed. Passionate about her field, Dr. Carlson currently holds a Ph.D. concentrated in emergency management, the CEM® designation from the International Association of Emergency Managers, and an MSW from the University of Connecticut with associated clinical social work background. She has received accolades that include the Inspiration Award from the American Red Cross for her work in Disaster Services. Dr. Carlson is the owner of a private New England business, Scenic Landscapes, LLC, which includes Scenic Landscapes by J. Carlson focused primarily on writing and photography and Disaster PlanEx focused on emergency management. Jennifer has published photographic work in addition to her emergency management and literary works with ProQuest and the International Association of Emergency Managers. She has also been published in other magazines and journals. Dr. Carlson reviews articles for the Journal of Emergency Management and continues to write and review additional work for her field. Dr. Carlson can be reached here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferc14, http://www.sceniclandscapes.org or at http://www.disasterplanex.com.