Katrina Woodhams is a resilience analyst and project manager supporting the Resilient Systems Design and Engineering Group within NREL's Energy Security and Resilience Center. Her areas of expertise include stakeholder outreach and engagement; disaster recovery leadership; planning and coordination; community preparedness, resilience, and capacity building; and program and business development. Her focus is on analysis, outreach, and program development to increase deployment of resilient technologies and access to technical assistance to support energy transitions for communities.

As a project manager on disaster preparedness and recovery operations, Woodhams has led several interagency initiatives addressing community preparedness and resilience challenges through the emphasis on inter/intra agency coordination, risk and cultural communications, community engagement and planning, and capacity building in historically underserved communities. She has performed resilience impact and vulnerability assessments and lead recovery support strategies for federal, state, local, and tribal governments and provided technical assistance for strategic planning, stakeholder engagement and communications, and program development efforts.

Research Interests

Value of resilient partnerships and engagement: assessing and modeling relationships and equity in environmental and energy justice communities

Clean energy transition and capacity building: program development, policies, and human and technical solutions to increase resilience in remote and island communities

Energy resilience strategic resource planning, identification, and collaboration: human and technical assistance solutions to support community decision-making

Education

M.S., Homeland Security and Defense, Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security

M.S., Computer Systems and Homeland Security Management (dual degree), University of Maryland University College

B.S., Communications and Broadcasting, Hood College

Professional Experience

Senior Advisor to Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (2016–2021)

Community Preparedness Officer, FEMA Region 8 (2018–2021)

Program Manager, FEMA Federal Preparedness Coordinators, FEMA CCTA Preparedness Grant, and FEMA Integration Team Programs (2013–2018)

Co-Advisor to Department of Homeland Security Federal Advisory Grant Task Force and Countering Violent Extremism Subcommittees, Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council (2015–2016)

Associations and Memberships

Member, Center for Homeland Security and Defense Association

Featured Work

Connections Among Communities: Preventing Radicalization and Violent Extremism through Social Network Analysis in the Threat and Hazard Identification Risk Assessment Process, Homeland Security Affairs (2016)