Presentations

Jim SchwabJim Schwab is a frequent speaker as a result of past research publications and training projects, particularly on the subject of natural hazards and disaster recovery. His career has included hundreds of presentations in a wide variety of settings. He has spoken both in the U.S. and abroad, the latter most recently in a set of lectures and seminars in New Zealand in 2008 as part of a Visiting Fellowship with the Centre for Advanced Engineering in New Zealand at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

UPCOMING:

Jim will speak as part of a panel on “Integrating Hazard Mitigation and Comprehensive Planning for a Resilient Community” at the National Hurricane Conference at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, April 21, from 10:30-12:00 noon.

Jim hosts an American Planning Association webinar on March 16, on the topic of hazard mitigation planning, with guests David Godschalk and Kenneth C. Topping, both veteran planners in this vital field. Use the link above to register for this event.

Jim will also be speaking at a workshop and two sessions at the APA National Planning Conference April 9-12 in Boston. In addition, APA will be introducing a new professional training workshop, “Planning the Urban Forest,” on April 9 at this conference, featuring trainers R.J. Laverne and David Rouse; Jim has worked with them as the project manager for developing this workshop under U.S. Forest Service sponsorship.

PRESENTATIONS IN 2011

  • March 3: Lecture on “Planning the Urban Forest” for Conservation Montgomery in Chevy Chase, MD
  • March 2: Panel presentation at “Mitigating Disaster through Design and Construction,” McGraw-Hill conference in Washington, DC

PRESENTATIONS IN 2010

  • November 4-5: Two plenary presentations at the Mississippi APA Chapter Conference in Ocean Springs, the first on “Hazard Mitigation,” the second on “Planning the Urban Forest”
  • October 21: Presentation to a special seminar on the Haitian earthquake disaster at the University of Iowa Law School
  • July 23: Speaker for Louisiana Office of Community Development - Disaster Recovery Unit Grant Program Kickoff Meeting, Baton Rouge, LA
  • July 12: Panelist for “Cracking Land Use Codes,” session at Natural Hazards Workshop, Broomfield, CO
  • May 12: Panelist for National Building Museum symposium at Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC
  • April 12: Panelist for “Integrating Hazard Mitigation into Local Planning,” session at APA National Planning Conference, New Orleans
  • April 11: Moderator for “Parking Management Innovations,” session at APA National Planning Conference, New Orleans, sponsored by Zoning Practice
  • April 10: Moderator for “Green Post-Disaster Redevelopment,” workshop at APA National Planning Conference, New Orleans, sponsored by Green Communities Research Center and Hazards Planning Research Center
  • April 10: Presenter for “Planning for a Disaster-Resistant Community,” workshop at APA National Planning Conference, New Orleans
  • February 3: Keynote speaker for National Evacuation Conference, New Orleans, sponsored by University of New Orleans

TEACHING

In recent years, Jim has served as adjunct faculty at both the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) and the University of Iowa.  At UIC, he has co-instructed, with Richard Roths, a graduate-level course on hazard mitigation and disaster recovery in the College of Urban Policy and Public Affairs, Urban Planning and Policy Department, on a two-year rotation. At the University of Iowa, since 2008, he has taught every fall semester “Special Topics: Disaster Plans,” a course with one- or two-credit options, the latter including a full-day training workshop that is also open to professional planners for continuing education credits. This latter assignment is also helping Jim pursue his particular long-term interest in writing a book about the 1993 and 2008 Midwest floods.