ROY BARNES

Roy Barnes, Georgia’s 80^th Governor, was born March 11, 1948, in Atlanta, Georgia. The second son of Bill and Agnes Barnes, he developed an early fascination with politics listening to political discussions as he worked in the family general store in Mableton. Barnes attended the public schools of Cobb County and then majored in history at the University of Georgia where he competed on the university debate team. He continued his education at UGA’s Law School and served as president of the student bar association.

After graduating from law school, Barnes became a prosecutor in the Cobb District Attorney’s office. Just two years later, he was elected to the first of eight terms in the State Senate at age 26. Four years into his Senate tenure, Barnes was named Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and in 1983, he was chosen by Governor Joe Frank Harris to be the Administration Floor Leader, a position he held until 1989.

While in the Senate, Barnes served on the governor’s Growth Strategies Commission and was Senate Chairman of the Constitutional Revision Committee. He was a member of appointed and interim committees studying worker’s compensation, services for the aged, child abuse domestic violence, transportation, community services for the mentally disable and problems of the homeless.

After competing his sixteen years of service in the Senate, Barnes continued his political career in 1993 with election to the state House of Representatives. He served as Vice-Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and was a member of the Rules Committee and the Banks and Banking Committee. Barnes has maintained a private law practice in Cobb County since 1975, and been a successful businessman, banker and active member of the First United Methodist Church of Marietta as well as civic organization throughout Cobb County.

Roy Barnes is married to Marie Dobbs Barnes, also a Cobb County native, whom he met while both were attending the University of Georgia. Marie is the daughter of Albert and Elizabeth Kelly Dobbs. The Barnes’ have three children, Harlan, Allison and Alyssa. back to top

ROBERT C. BROWN

Robert Brown became executive vice president for the Farm Credit Bank of Texas, which serves the Federal Land Bank Associations and Production Credit Associations in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, in October 1995. In this capacity he oversees association performance; appraisal standards, commercial loans and participations; mortgage and production lending; special assets; and loan processing and servicing. Raised on a ranch in Texas Hill County, Brown is a 1964 graduate of Texas A&M University. He has over 33 years of service with the Farm Credit bank of Texas. back to top

JOSEPH W. WESTPHAL

On June 9, 1998, the United States Senate confirmed President Clinton's nomination of Dr. Joseph W. Westphal to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works). On June 17, 1998, Dr. Westphal was sworn into office by the Acting Secretary of the Army, Honorable Robert M. Walker. Dr. Westphal provides executive direction and leadership to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works program and administration of the Arlington National Cemetery. He also oversees some aspects of the implementation of the Panama Canal. Prior to becoming the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Dr. Westphal served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked on issues relating to the Clean Water Act, transportation and infrastructure, Mississippi River water quality, children's health, and international agreements.

From 1988 to 1997, Dr. Westphal was the Special Assistant to Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), Chairman of the Congressional Sunbelt Caucus. During that time, he directed the activities of the Caucus, which was co-chaired by Senator John Breaux. The Caucus is a bipartisan and bicameral coalition of 200 Members of Congress from the south and southwest that works on issues of importance to the region.

From 1975 to 1987, Dr. Westphal was a professor of political science at Oklahoma State University. In 1983, he became Head of the Political Science Department.

Dr. Westphal held several positions in the Federal Government, including the following:

1981 - Special Assistant to the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on the Budget.

1982 - Policy Analyst and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Land and Water Resources at the

Department of the Interior.

1983 - Policy Analyst and Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior.

1987 - Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Water Resources of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Dr. Westphal has been a consultant to various Federal agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Information Agency, the Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Dr. Westphal has lectured at universities and has advised governments in various European and Latin American nations on diverse issued including legislative organization and politics, governance, decentralization of government, legislative-executive relations, natural resources and environmental policy, and regional politics. Dr. Westphal is an Adjunct Professor of Government at Georgetown University. He has an undergraduate degree in political science from Adelphi University in New York, and a Ph.D. degree in political science with a minor in economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia. back to top

SAM KATHRYN CAMPANA

Sam Kathryn Campana was elected as Scottsdale’s Mayor in April 1996 after serving for eight years on the Scottsdale City Council from 1986-1994.

Mayor Campana had been Executive Director of Arizonans for Cultural Development since 1983. This nonprofit, nonpartisan organization serves as the state’s arts advocacy voice. Now as CEO, she works statewide with business leaders, educators, artists, elected officials and arts activists, discussing the economic and social impact of arts in Arizona.

A 25-year Scottsdale resident, Mayor Campana was a founding member of the Scottsdale Arts Center Association (SACA) in 1975, serving as the first volunteer chairman and first woman president of this 2,000-member organization. In 1988, she was named Arizona’s "Arts Advocate of the Year" and in 1991 she was the recipient of the Maricopa Community College Arts Advocacy Award. In addition, she was awarded a fellowship at the National Endowment of the Arts’ Policy, Planning and Budgeting Office in Washington, D.C., in 1992. In 1996, she was a panelist at American Assembly, The Arts and the Public Purpose, sponsored by Columbia University.

In 1990, she completed the Senior Executive Program for State and local Officials at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Other accolades have included the "Golden Key National Honor Society Membership" from Arizona State University; Maricopa County Community College Alumni of the Year; Scottsdale Community College Outstanding Alumni; per an invitation by the Jewish Federate of Greater Phoenix, participating in Interfaith Mission 14 to Israel in 1990; and being selected as a member of Leadership America’s Class II in 1993.

Mayor Campana has been a founding member and held various leadership positions for the Scottsdale Foundation for the Handicapped, Arizona Women in Municipal Government, Scottsdale Leadership, Las Rancheras Republican Women, State Arts Advocacy League of America, Share the Health Foundation, Valley Leadership V and the Scottsdale Western Arts Association.

Mayor Campana is also an active member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church. Mayor Campana graduated with honors from Scottsdale Community College, and attended Arizona State University and Carroll College in Montana.

She has three children, Cassidy, Katie and Richie. back to top

BERNARD KULIK

Bernard Kulik directs the national operations of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance. The program offers low-interest loans to help renters, homeowners and businesses of all sizes rebuild in the aftermath of a disaster.

Kulik joined the SBA in 1964. He has headed the disaster assistance program since September 1981. Kulik has served in many positions at the agency, including director of Field Operations, associate administrator for Procurement Assistance, and associate administrator for the Office of Investment.

In 1980 and 1995, Kulik was awarded the rank of "Meritorious Executive" by Presidents Carter and Clinton, respectively. Kulik was named "Distinguished Executive" by President Bush in 1991. He has also received SBA’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Service. back to top

ANE D. DEISTER

Ms. Deister has over twenty years experience in the fields of water treatment, distribution and supply, wastewater treatment and reuse, and conservation and integrated resource planning and management. Over the past fifteen years she has been appointed to top level positions by three contemporary governors in California and Florida. She presently holds a top executive position with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California as Executive Assistant to the General Manager. In her current position she serves as Director of Strategy for the agency’s outreach with customers, legislative and congressional members, the press, governmental groups, environmental, community and business groups and other stakeholders.

Prior to her current appointment she served as Director of Operations, Director of Engineering and Planning and Director of Resource Conservation for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District located in the Malibu Canyon watershed in southern California. Her previous positions have included: Special Assistant Executive Director for the South Florida Water Management District, Assistant Vice President for Engineering for General Development Utilities, Executive Director of the South Florida Regional Planning Council, Executive Director of the Apalachee Regional Planning Council, and Assistant Secretary for Resources in the California Resources Agency .

Ms. Deister effectively combines technical training and experience with communications, governmental relations and alternative dispute resolution practices. Her conflict resolution successes have covered a variety of conflict areas including growth management, water resources planning and management, drought mitigation and management, watershed management, and land use and environmental regulations. She holds two masters degrees, one in Biology from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, the other in Environmental Engineering and Systems from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Her undergraduate degree is in Botany, also from the University of South Florida.

Ms. Deister has served for five years as chair of the Governmental Coordination committee for the national American Water Works Association and was selected to represent the U.S. in an environmental and resource management policy exchange with the countries of Russia, Estonia and the Czech Republic in 1994. She has made numerous presentations and produced publications spanning a broad spectrum of subjects.

Ms. Deister resides in Southern California with her husband Keith and their daughter Katy. She enjoys cooking, aerobics, reading and all family activities. back to top

DAN GLICKMAN

The longest serving Secretary of Agriculture in 13 years, Dan Glickman has guided the federal government’s fifth largest agency, with 95,000 employees around the world and in virtually every community in the country and a $68 billion annual budget, through some of the most significant changes in its 137-year history.

Under Glickman’s leadership, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has undergone its most thorough transformation since the New Deal. The Department restructured and modernized its field office structure to the extent that, when coupled with changes in its headquarters operations, it will have cut administrative and overhead costs by more than $4 billion. During his tenure, USDA implemented a new science-based meat and poultry inspection system, totally transforming an antiquated, century-old system; reformed its food stamp and child nutrition programs for the first time in 50 years; and protected more private and federal lands than ever before by reforming an array of farm conservation programs and adopting a new management ethic within the Forest Service. For the first time in its history, at Glickman’s direction and initiative, the Department of Agriculture has radically transformed and improved its civil rights performance and image.

Glickman has presided over the most tumultuous and challenging farm economy in a decade, with agricultural exports reaching record highs and commodity prices climbing to unparalleled heights, then plunging to levels not witnessed in decades. In response, Glickman’s advocacy prompted, first, strengthened farm trade, conservation, and research programs in the midst of a fundamental rewriting of federal farm policy in 1996, then second, the most sweeping and complex farm assistance package of the decade.

Glickman’s leadership brought groundbreaking attention to several new areas of food and agricultural policy, including:

the special problems of small and socially disadvantaged farmers and rural communities;
the fundamental shifts in the structure of farming and agriculturally allied industries because of the concentration of agribusinesses;
the potential of farmers markets;
the fostering of the growth of the market for organic foods;
gleaning food recovery; and
the integrity of the financial management of USDA’s multi-billion dollar, multi-faceted programs.

Glickman was already a nationally recognized leader in food and agricultural policy before being sworn in as the 26th Secretary of Agriculture on March 30, 1995, as a result his 18-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Kansas’ fourth congressional district, which includes the Wichita area. Glickman brought to President Clinton’s Cabinet experience from nearly two decades of leadership on the House Committee on Agriculture, including six years as chairman of the Subcommittee on Wheat, Soybeans, and Feed Grains, which had jurisdiction over nearly 75 percent of the USDA farm program budget. While serving on the committee, he was instrumental in writing four farm bills and food safety legislation. He is the author of legislation that presaged the USDA reorganization he later presided over as secretary.

In addition to his agricultural portfolio, Glickman was one the leading congressional experts on aviation policy and the author of successful legislation creating product liability protection for small airplane manufacturers. Glickman was also a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and he served on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, an arm of the House leadership. He is the author of several major legislative proposals, including the law authorizing the United States Institute of Peace, and several measures dealing with alternative energy uses. Glickman also wrote the legislation, now law, that increases criminal penalties for the destruction of religious property.

Glickman capped his congressional career as Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 1993 to 1995. During his tenure as a member and chairman of the Intelligence Committee, he led the effort to demystify and make more publicly accessible the activities of the U.S. intelligence community; he also presided over the committee’s investigation of Aldrich Ames.

Glickman, a native of Wichita, Kansas, began his public service as a member and president of the Wichita School Board. He was a partner in the law firm of Sargent, Klenda and Glickman, and served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Glickman received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from George Washington University. He married Rhoda Yura of Detroit in 1966, and they have two adult children, Jon and Amy. back to top

JOHN J. KELLY, JR.

Brigadier General John J. Kelly, Jr. was appointed as Assistant Administrator for Weather Services and Director of the National Weather Service for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in February 1998.

General Kelly came into this position with 33 years of experience in all facets of the weather field, including 15 years at the senior-executive level in both government and private industry. He has broad experience in leading scientific organizations, introducing change, working in the Washington and international environments, and using and implementing technology.

Immediately prior to his current appointment, he was a senior advisor on weather services for the Department of Commerce, where he conducted a bottom-up review of the total National Weather Service operation, plus NOAA and NWS management, planning, and budget policies and processes. He also determined the resources required to operate the NWS in fiscal years 1998 and 1999 and complete its modernization and restructuring activities.

In the private sector, General Kelly was Director of Weather Systems for GTE Information Systems from 1994 to 1996. There he directed GTE's $30 million/year weather and aviation services business line, and was responsible for client satisfaction and interface, strategic planning, business development and sales, profit and loss, and program management.

General Kelly retired from the Air Force in 1994 after serving for 31 years. He began his military career with world-wide assignments, with duties covering the entire spectrum of the weather field, from operational forecaster to chief scientist, to staff officer. He retired from the military as Director, Weather and Commander, Air Weather Service (1988-1994). As Director, he was chief operations officer of a 5,000-person global weather and space support organization with an annual operating budget in excess of $500 million. He was responsible for strategic planning, policy, resource allocation, requirements (material, personnel, training and technology) development, fiscal control, logistics, acquisition and operations management, and meeting client needs. One of his most notable accomplishments was restructuring the organization, thereby reducing overhead by 52 percent, decentralizing control and improving efficiency, overhauling and modernizing business practices, and reducing operating costs by 30 percent. General Kelly holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Seton Hall University. He has done graduate studies in meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, and holds a master's degree in public administration from Auburn University. He also completed leadership programs at the Air Force Command and Staff College and the Industrial College of Armed Forces. General Kelly is an American Meteorological Society Fellow, and has been listed in Who's Who in America. back to top

ELUID L. MARTINEZ

In 1995, President Clinton appointed Eluid L. Martinez as the 15th Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, an agency in the Department of the Interior. Mr. Martinez oversees the operation and maintenance of Reclamation's water storage, water distribution, and electric power generation facilities in the 17 Western states. Reclamation is the fifth largest electric utility in the 17 Western States and the nation's second largest wholesale water supplier.

As Commissioner, Mr. Martinez has furthered Reclamation's goal of a continued emphasis on water resource management for the West's divergent interests, which consists of cities, irrigators, Native American tribes, recreational interests, and fish and wildlife needs. "Providing for our customers in a manner that safeguards their water supplies while ensuring the integrity of the West's environmental values is my number one concern," Mr. Martinez has said.

Mr. Martinez retired from New Mexico state government in 1994 as a distinguished engineer with extensive experience in water resource administration, management, and flood protection programs. His positions included State Engineer, Secretary of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, New Mexico Commissioner to Six Interstate Compact Commissions, and member of the New Mexico Water Quality Commission.

Mr. Martinez, 55, is a native of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. He received an undergraduate degree in civil engineering at New Mexico State University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor and has held extensive positions in 12 regional and national water associations and belongs to three engineering fraternities. Mr. Martinez was elected to and served as President of the City of Santa Fe School Board.

An accomplished artist, Mr. Martinez hails from a rich heritage of nine generations of woodcarvers, or santeros. His sculptures, lithographs, and prints reside in the permanent collection of such museums as the Smithsonian Institute and the Denver Art Museum.

Mr. Martinez and his wife Suzanne have three children and two grandchildren. The couple divides their time between Washington, D.C. and Santa Fe, New Mexico. back to top

ROBERT L. MILLER

Bob Miller is a member of the Creek Nation of Oklahoma and raises cattle and horses on the oldest ranch in Oklahoma that has been maintained in family ownership.

A life-long rancher, Bob earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University, and with his brother, managed the family-owned Miller Ranch for many years.

Active in Agriculture and Civic affairs, he is a member and the Past President of the Okmulgee County Cattlemen’s Association, Past Chairman of the Morris School Board, member and Past Chairman of the local Production Credit Association Board, and a former board member of the local Soil and Water Conservation District.

Elected to the State Senate in 1978, Bob served as Senator for his district, and was elevated to Majority Whip of the Oklahoma State Senate during his second term. His brother and he split the family holdings, and after two terms as State Senator, he returned to his ranch just outside of Beggs, Oklahoma to resume producing cattle.

His period as a full-time Rancher was short-lived, however, as he was asked to represent his area on the National Indian Agricultural Working Group created in June of 1987.

Subsequently appointed by the Creek Nation to serve as their official Delegate to the Charter Convention of the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) in November of 1987, Bob was elected by the other delegates from his region to represent them on the Executive Board of the IAC. He was subsequently elected to be the first President of the IAC by the Board, and has served in that capacity since November of 1987. back to top

RONALD R. MORRISS

Mr. Morriss was first elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in 1984. He is currently serving his fourth term, and is Chairman of The Board. Supervisor Morriss represents district #3, which encompasses much of the high growth and rural areas of Santa Cruz County. A major portion of the district is contiguous to the Mexican Border. Prior to serving on the Board of Supervisors, Mr. Morriss served as Mayor and Council Member of the Town of Patagonia, Arizona.

Mr. Morris is a retired businessman. He has owned retail farm and ranch supply businesses in Santa Cruz County and is a pioneer in the Cable Television Industry, having owned and participated in the development of Cable Television and Communication Systems throughout the U. S. from 1959 through 1988.

In addition to serving on the Board of Supervisors, Mr. Morriss has represented Arizona County Supervisors as a member of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors since 1993. He currently serves as Chairman of the NACo Intergovernmental Relations Committee. Mr. Morriss participates in NACo’s annual Payments in Lieu of Taxes lobbying effort in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Mr. Morriss has served on a number of Joint State Legislative Committees and task forces, including County Issues, Joint Legislative Committee on Welfare Reform and Governor’s Homeless Trust Fund Oversight Committee.

Supervisor Morriss has served as president of the Arizona County Supervisor’s Association and is a member of the Board of Directors. Additionally he is a past President of the Arizona Water Users Association. Currently, he serves as a member and chair of the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ Active Management Area in Santa Cruz County, where he was first appointed by Governor Mofford and then by Governor Symington.

In 1998, Mr. Morriss successfully initiated an effort to organize the U.S./Mexico Border Counties Coalition to create an organization to represent the border interests of 24 U.S.counties from San Diego to Cameron County, Texas.

Mr. Morriss is a native of Arkansas and has been a resident of Arizona since 1970. His educational background is in electronic communications. He holds a Federal Communications Commission General Class Radiotelephone Operators License.

Mr. Morriss resides in Patagonia with his wife Cynthia and their daughter Samantha. Mr. Morriss is a member of the Methodist Church, and a member of the Democratic Party. back to top

ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ

Mr. Ernesto Rodriguez is the State Director for Emergency Management for the State of New Mexico. He is responsible for developing and maintaining a comprehensive program of emergency management activities that supplements, facilitates, and provides leadership to local efforts before, during, and after emergencies and/or disasters. His work also includes responsibility for developing intrastate compacts, mutual aid agreements, and for facilitating the acquisition of Federal resources to deal with emergencies and/or disasters. Before joining the New Mexico Department of Public Safety in November 1994, Mr. Rodriguez served in the U. S. Army for 20 years, serving in Central and South America and at various stateside Army installations.

Mr. Rodriguez has a BA in Social Science from the College of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe, New Mexico and is a graduate from the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College. He has done graduate work at the University of New Mexico, and Webster’s University. Mr. Rodriguez was born and raised in Colonias, New Mexico.
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BRIAN SCHWEITZER

Brian Schweitzer and his family live on their farm in Whitefish. They maintain a peppermint, wheat, dill, hay and cattle operation in both Flathead and Rosebud counties. He has been involved in farming and irrigation projects in Africa, Asia, and South and North America. For seven years working in Saudi Arabia, Schweitzer developed over 28,000 acres of irrigated crop land in every major farming district there. He returned to Montana in 1987 to run his own family farm.

Schweitzer was elected chairman of the Montana Mint Committee, where he directed research and legislation pertaining to the mint industry in Montana. He was appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to serve on the Montana State USDA Farm Service Agency committee in 1993 and was appointed annually since then; he has resigned this year to run for the U.S. Senate. He has been active in developing and implementing national farm policy, and received an award for the Secretary of Agriculture for outreach efforts to Native Americans. In 1996, Schweitzer was appointed to the Montana Rural Development Partnership Board.

Schweitzer received his Bachelor of Science degree in International Agronomy from Colorado State University and his Master of Science degree in Botany from Montana State University. They have three children, sons Ben, 12, and Khai 11, and daughter Katrina 9.

Schweitzer was born in Havre in 1955, one of five sons and a daughter of Kay and Adam Schweitzer, and was raised on his parents’ registered cattle farm in the Judith Basin. His German and Irish grandparents immigrated to Montana near the turn of the century and homesteaded in Hill County and are buried there. His parents are in their 70's, but still farm and contribute to church and community. They were very active in various farm organizations and in the Democratic Party. back to top

A. LEON SMOTHERS

Leon Smothers is a professional engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the field of water resources. He has worked most extensively in managing the water resources programs of the State of Kentucky. Mr. Smothers has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Tennessee. He has also worked for local and federal government agencies and as a consulting engineer in the private sector.

Among his other activities, Mr. Smothers has managed the Commonwealth?s water shortage and drought response activities since 1983. In that year, Kentucky suffered its first extensive drought in decades. It was obvious early in that drought that both state and local governments were completely unprepared to respond. To remedy this, Mr. Smothers supervised the development of the state?s Water Shortage Response Plan, one of the first such efforts in the Eastern U.S. The Plan discusses in detail the responsibilities of local and state governments in a four-phase drought process. This led to an even more detailed water supply planning process in the 1990s to assess the drought vulnerability of each community within the state for current demands and projected demands through the year 2020. This planning process was so extensive that it was easily converted to meet the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's requirements of its new Source Water Protection Planning Program to be implemented by the states. Kentucky was the first state by a considerable margin to receive approval of this program.

Mr. Smothers has also coordinated drought response activities with other agencies. He worked with the state?s Division of Emergency Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district offices with jurisdiction in Kentucky as they developed their standard operating procedures during droughts. He also worked closely with the Louisville District of the Corps of Engineers in the operation of its reservoirs in the Kentucky River basin, which contains the state's most highly drought vulnerable communities.

Mr. Smothers is deeply committed to environmental and social issues. He strongly supports community participation and citizen involvement in the governing process. He meets frequently with local governments, industry, citizens and other stakeholder groups in a wide variety of forums to solicit input to formulate better state policies and to shape our programs.

As a manager in state government, Mr. Smothers realizes and has stressed the importance of coordination with the state's federal counterparts and with neighboring states. He has guided Kentucky's programs so as to maintain the highest degree of compatibility with those of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U. S. Geological Survey, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. He has also served on national and regional organizations in many water resources program areas. He is currently Chair of the Ohio River Basin Commission. back to top

LAURENCE W. ZENSINGER

Mr. Zensinger’s career with FEMA began in 1978 with the Federal Insurance Administration, then part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As a flood insurance specialist with FIA, Mr. Zensinger was instrumental in the development and implementation of the first flooded property purchase and relocation program, under Section 1362 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. During his career at FEMA, Mr. Zensinger has held a number of positions in organizations responsible for implementing disaster relief programs, including, Chief of the Hazard Mitigation Branch and Director of the Public Assistance and Program Coordination Divisions of the Office of Response and Recovery, predecessor to the Response and Recovery Directorate.

Mr. Zensinger has also undertaken a variety of special assignments, including the coordination of the Midwest Flood Buyout program in 1993 and 1994, which resulted in the acquisition and removal from the floodplain of over 8,000 flood damaged structures. In addition, he served as the Federal Coordinating Officer for DR-1008, the Northridge Earthquake during a critical period in 1995 which resulted in a complete restructuring and redirection of the office to assume its long-term recovery mission.

Mr. Zensinger is a graduate of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana with a B.A. in Earth Sciences and Southern Illinois University, with a Masters in City Planning. He resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife, Margaret. back to top