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John Pennington

John Pennington

Dr. John Pennington

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CASR
Director: Master of Security and Disaster Management (MSDM)
Collaborative Faculty: College of Indigenous Studies

Email: jepennington@alaska.edu
Phone: 907-474-6537
Weblink: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnepennington/ 

  • University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • Faculty - National Emergency Management Advanced Academy
  • Former Director - FEMA Region X
  • Emergency Management – Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS)


Dr. John E. Pennington is an internationally recognized Homeland Security, Emergency Management, and Public Policy professional with an established focus on the Alaskan Arctic and Alaska Native Communities. A former DHS-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Director (AK, ID, OR, WA), he is Deputy Director of the Center for Arctic Security & Resilience (CASR) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and also serves as Collaborative Faculty for the UAF's College of Indigenous Studies. As an HSEM practitioner, he serves as Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) Advisor to the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) in the development of the world's first Arctic-based, Regional Tribal Emergency Management system. 

Dr. Pennington is a founding emergency management practitioner and faculty member for FEMA's National Emergency Management Academy (NEMAA), where he has authored, structured, and led in the evolution of Emergency Management in the 21st century. He has led response and recovery coordination to over 30 Stafford Act Presidential Disaster Declarations.

Prior to his HSEM experience, he served for four elected terms in the State of Washington House of Representatives, representing three counties in SW Washington and home to Mt. St. Helens (Loowit). In 1997, he was unanimously elected Washington's 11th Speaker Pro Tempore of the House, remaining in that position for three terms until he departed for federal service following the tragic events of September 11th, 2001.

He earned a Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies with a concentration in Indigenous Knowledge Systems from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. As a Mellon Fellow, his research focused on Alaska Native Government-to-Government Relationships in the Post-Disaster Environment. He holds a Master's Degree in Emergency & Disaster Management and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School Executive Leader Program at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) and is a twice-approved Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) from the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). Dr. Pennington is a proud 2017 alumnus of FEMA's Advanced Academy and is a 2022 FEMA Vanguard Crisis Executive Leader Fellow.

Research and Scholarly Interests

Emergency and Disaster Management, Indigenous Revitalization and Sovereignty, Arctic Disaster Resilience, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Indigenous Knowledge Systems


Education

  • Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies, University of Alaska Fairbanks (2023)
    • Research: How Alaska’s Tribes Participate in Government-to-Government Relations in a Post-Disaster Environment (2023)
  • Executive Leaders Program (ELP), Naval Postgraduate School - Center for Homeland Defense and Security (2013)
  • M.A., Emergency and Disaster Management, American Military University (2012)
  • B.S. Business Administration, California Coast University (2001)

 
Certifications and Credentials

  • Certified Emergency Manager-CEM©, International Association of Emergency Managers (2015-2021; Recertified 2021-present)
  • FEMA Vanguard Fellow - Cohort #2 (2022)
  • Graduate-National Emergency Management Advanced Academy- Federal Emergency Management Institute (2017)


Academic Publications and Related Scholarly Activities

Schaffer, Daryl, and John Pennington. “Equity, Isolation, and Federal Disaster Recovery Assistance: Geographic Discrepancy in Hurricane Recovery”. Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 23, no. 2, Mar. 2025, pp. 183-90, doi:10.5055/jem.0894.

Pennington John E., Schaffer Daryl. (2025, Apr), Conflict by Design: Stafford Act Incompatibility with Alaska Tribal Sovereignty. Journal of Emergency Management. 2025 Mar-Apr;23(2):211-227. doi: 10.5055/jem.0922. PMID: 40186471.

Pennington, J., (2024, June), Sovereign Disasters: How Alaska's Tribes Participate in Government-to-Government Relations in the Post-Disaster Environment. Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) International Conference, Bodo, Norway.

Hayes, J. and Pennington, J. At 156°W: The Alaska Territorial Guard as a Solution to Arctic Capacity and Domain Awareness. Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, 7 no. 4 (2024).

Pennington, J., (2024, May), Sovereign Disasters: How Alaska's Tribes Participate in Government-to-Government Relations in the Post-Disaster Environment. Arctic Congress 2024, Bodo, Norway.

Pennington, J., and Schaffer, D., (2024, Feb), Sustainable Post-Typhoon Merbok Mitigation Efforts in Underserved Communities. National Hazard Mitigation Workshop, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Virtual.

Pennington, J., (2023, Dec), Iñupiaq Emergency Management. Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope - Arctic Summit, Anchorage, AK.

Pennington, J., and Schaffer, D., (2023, Nov), Sustainable Post-Typhoon Merbok Mitigation Efforts in Underserved Communities. 16th Annual Homeland Defense and Security Education Summit, Naval Postgraduate School, Virtual.

Pennington. J., (2023, Oct.), The 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska’s Tribes and the Government-to-Government Relationship. Cascadia Tsunami Conference, Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, Virtual.

Pennington, J., (2022, Oct), Flipping the Script: Adopting LMIC Innovations to Promote Climate-related Risks Preparedness and Response, Global System for Mobile Communications Conference, Virtual.

Pennington, J., (2019, Oct), Higher Education and Tribal Emergency Management. National Tribal Emergency Management Conference, Oneida Nation, Green Bay, WI.

Pennington, J., (2018, Oct), The Future of Emergency Management and the Emergency Management Professional. Oregon Emergency Management Annual Conference, Bend, OR.

Pennington, J., (2014, Nov), Mass Fatality and Flooding Events – 2014 Oso, Washington Disaster. British Columbia Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC.

Pennington, J., (2014, Nov), Washington State Route 530 (Oso, Washington) Catastrophic Landslide and Flooding Disaster. International Association of Emergency Managers Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX.  

Pennington, J., (2014, Oct), Catastrophic Landslide of 2014. North Carolina Emergency Management Association, Sunset Beach, NC

Pennington, J., (2002, Aug), Official Testimony and Statement., U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, United States Senate, Committee on Appropriations, Anchorage, AK.

Pennington, J., Sovereign Disasters: How Alaska's Tribes Participate in Government-to-Government Relations in a Post-Disaster Environment. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 5 May 2023

Pennington, John E., "Respecting Tribal Emergency Management", Disaster Preparedness, 14 September 2022

Pennington, J., and Troy J. Bouffard. Homeland Security Should Prioritize Climate Security, Indigenous Primacy in its Arctic Strategy. Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sept 2021.

 
Practitioner Experience

  • Homeland Security Advisor / Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS-EM) / (2021-Present): Utqiagvik, Alaska.
  • Director of Emergency Preparedness, Overlake Medical Center and Clinics (Pandemic Response and Recovery) (2020-2021)
  • Director of Emergency Management, Snoqualmie Tribe of Indians (2015-2017)
  • Director of Emergency Management, Snohomish County, WA (2006-2016)
  • Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Alaska-Idaho-Oregon-Washington (2002-2006)

 

Public Service Experience

  • Dr. John Pennington, a Certified Emergency Manager through the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), was selected to serve on the State of Alaska Emergency Management and Hazard Mitigation Workshop Committee, where he contributes his expertise in hazard mitigation planning for both Tribal and non-Tribal communities
  • Appointed as a member of the Southeast Alaska Landslide Information and Preparedness Partnership (alaskalandslide.org), supporting statewide resilience efforts through scientific collaboration and public safety initiatives. Throughout his emergency management practitioner career, Dr Pennington led response and recovery to over 30 federally declared disasters, several of which were landslides. In 2014, prior to his academic journey with UAF, then Director Pennington led the response and recovery to the nation's deadliest landslide in Oso, Washington
  • Member - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Tribal Alert and Warning (Emergency Alert System) Committee (2024 – present)
    Board Member - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Alert & Warning Network (AWN) Tiger Team (2024- present)
  • Senior National Faculty - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Emergency Management Advanced Academy (NEMAA) (2012-2025)
  • Chair and Associate Professor - Pierce College of Washington- Homeland Security Emergency Management (2016-2021) 
  • Speaker Pro Tempore - State of Washington House of Representatives (1997-2002)
  • State Representative - State of Washington House of Representatives (1995-2002)


Hobbies

  • Outdoor Activities
  • Acoustic Guitar and Songwriting
  • Wandering

 

Courses Taught (UAF only)

HSEM 690-UAF: MSDM Capstone Course
HSEM/MBA 665- UAF: Strategic Collaboration
HSEM 605-UAF: Community Planning & Emergency Management (AI/AN)
SPRT 485-UAF: Sport and Recreation Facilities
HSEM 434- UAF: All-Hazards Risk Analysis
HSEM 423-UAF: Disaster Response Operations (Coordination)
HSEM 330-UAF: Emergency Management in Rural Alaska
HSEM 301-UAF: Principles of HSEM
HSEM 320- UAF: Survey of Rural Emergency Management in Alaska
HSEM 233-UAF: Critical Infrastructure Protection