Bob Freitag was the Director of the Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research (IHMP) and an instructor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington (UW). Recognized for his contributions to education and disaster planning, he has received the Outstanding Part-time Instructor Award from the department and the Jerry Louthain Award for Distinguished Service from the Association of State Floodplain Managers. He has developed and taught courses for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC), and the University of Washington, specializing in community resilience, hazards mitigation and floodplain management. Before joining UW, he served with FEMA, deploying on over 50 Federal Disaster Declarations. His final role with FEMA Region 10 was as a Federal Coordination Officer, overseeing response efforts.