Our Leadership
Board of Directors
Chairman & CEO
Board Member & Secretary
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Brent H. Woodworth
Chairman & CEO
Brent is a well-known leader in domestic and international crisis management, collaborative partnership development, systems and program innovation. He has a distinguished history of working with government leaders, military, private sector companies, academics, the faith community and non-profit organizations. Brent has led teams in first-hand response to over 70 man-made and natural disasters in 50 countries including conflict zones, regional crisis events and acts of terrorism.
Brie Lakota, PhD
Board Member & Secretary
Brie Loskota is the executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at USC. Her research focuses on how religions change and make change in the world. She is co-founder and senior advisor to the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute and a trainer-facilitator with the United State Institute of Peace’s Generation Change program, where she has trained young leaders from across the Middle East and Africa. Brie’s expertise is vast – she has a specialized focus with: community resilience and disaster response; faith organizations; government-religious engagement and partnership; religious pluralism, change and innovation; faith community leadership; international security, conflict and affairs.
David Hertz
Board Member
David Hertz, FAIA, Architect founded Syndesis in 1983 and S.E.A. The Studio of Environmental Architecture, a practice focus on regenerative design in an age of resilience. David won the 2022 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Climate Action. in 2018 Hertz won the Water Abundance XPRIZE a 1.5 M prize to make over 2,000 liters of water from air.In 2006 David was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from SCI-Arc and in 2008 he was elected to the prestigious American Institute of Architects College of Fellows, as one of its youngest members in its over 155-year history. David's award-winning work has been published widely and exhibited internationally. Some highlights include exhibitions in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the National Building Museum, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. David has taught studios and lectured at Yale,USC, UCLA and Art Center.
Lars Gustavsson
Board Member
Lars Gustavsson, a Swedish national, has spent most of his professional life working in the Overseas Development Assistance Industry. Through-out most of his life he has led many “Build-Operate-Transfer” efforts ranging from small company start-ups, to consortia and coalitions, to major organizational functional change efforts, to academia and new degree programmes, to major complex relief efforts, to major infrastructure projects.
Peter Katona, PhD
Board Member
Dr. Peter Katona, MD is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He has worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an EIS (Epidemic Intelligence Service) Officer studying viral diseases and doing epidemic investigation; and at Apria/Corum Healthcare as their Corporate Medical Director.
He is an Adjunct Professor at the Fielding School of Public Health and an Instructor at Louisiana State University. He is active at the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT) and the Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education Expertise in Clinical Infectious Diseases & Internal Medicine, specializing in Epidemiology, Public Health Medical Informatics, Biotechnology Terrorism, Biological Weapons, and Biowarfare.
Steven Jensen, PhD
Board Member
Dr. Steven Jensen is an advisor and educator in Disaster Risk Management, focusing on policy and governance. He has served for forty years in humanitarian assistance and emergency services. Dr. Jensen earned a Doctorate in Policy from the University of Southern California, a Master of Science in Emergency Management from California State University, and a Bachelor of Science in International Studies from Whitworth University. Strong analytical skills, backed by extensive experience and education, allow Dr. Jensen to help shape the emerging field of DRM. To this end, Dr. Jensen has recently been focused on developing the next- generation core competencies to guide education and practice, as well as writing and offering presentations on strategic issues. Dr. Jensen is a co-author of the “2018 Woolsey Fire—A Catalyst for Change” report and a key contributor and participant in the Community Brigade Pilot Program.
Dale S. Zuehls, PhD
Board Member
Dale S. Zuehls, PhD, CPA, JD, CFF, ABV, CGMA, ACFE, has practiced for over 35 years, has taught at several Southern California Universities, and held various leadership positions within the Big 4 accounting environment. He also led KPMG’s exempt organization tax practice for the Western United States. Dale received his Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law (Los Angeles, CA); Bachelor of Science, Accounting in California State University (Los Angeles, CA).