Affiliation: The Norwegian Red Cross
Bio: Øyvin Lund is Team leader for the Preparedness and Crisis Management Unit at the Norwegian Red Cross. Øyvin has been the project leader for the Norwegian Red Cross and the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority’s joint project on Strengthening Arctic Health Preparedness for the last year.
Presentations:
Arctic Health Preparedness Project: Challenges and Opportunities for Strengthening Civil Society and Authorities’ Collaboration in Arctic Emergency Planning and Response
Affiliation: The Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB), Norway
Bio: Hans Kristian Madsen is an executive director on Fire and Rescue in DSB. He has held various positions within the directorate since 1990.
The Norwegian Emergency Preparedness Analysis of 2019
Plotting the Way Forward on Wildland Fires in the Arctic.
Bio: Johan Marius Ly is Director of Department, Fire and Rescue Department in DSB.
Sessions:
Affiliation: World Maritime University
Bio: Antonios Andreadakis, a PhD Candidate specializing in maritime safety, is a Merchant Marine Academy graduate with sea service on tankers. Holding an MSc from World Maritime University, his research focuses on enhancing passenger and crew safety in emergencies. He also collaborates with the 90 North Foundation on Arctic safety and sustainability.
Bio: Professor Dimitrios Dalaklis, specializing in Safety and Security, joined World Maritime University in 2014 and is the chair of Search and Rescue at UArctic. A Hellenic Naval Academy graduate and PhD holder from the University of the Aegean, he is an NI Associate Fellow and IAME member, with extensive research on Arctic maritime issues.
Affiliation: Norwegian Coastal Administration
Bio: Lill Veronika Benjaminsen is a Senior Legal Advisor at the Norwegian Coastal Administration, specializing in emergency preparedness and environmental risk management. She has experience from Arctic operations, particularly in Svalbard. She has been involved in several wreck handling projects, and she played a central role in the Northguider wreck removal project, supervising the wreck removal on behalf of the government.
Affiliation: The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB)
Bio: Jenny Sander is a senior officer/technical expert on vegetation fires at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. Jenny has a background in fire ecology, previously working with restoration of boreal forest habitats through prescribed burning. Today, that experience is used in working towards better prevention, detection and handling of forest fires in Sweden.
Lessons learned from the large wildfires in Sweden 2014 & 2018
Affiliation: Deputy Director of the Center for Arctic Security & Resilience (University of Alaska Fairbanks – UAF) / Homeland Security Advisor: Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) / Collaborating Faculty – College of Indigenous Studies (UAF)
Bio: Dr. John Pennington is an HSEM professional with an academic focus on Arctic Indigenous communities. A former FEMA Regional Director, he has coordinated response and recovery to over 30 disasters. He serves as Advisor to the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) in the development of the first Arctic-based, Regional Tribal Emergency Management system in the United States.
Affiliation: Faculty, College of Business and Security Management /Adjunct Faculty, Alaska Native Studies, Law & Governance, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)
Bio: Attorney, government policy advisor, and educator with a multi-disciplinary approach to creating system solutions. Focus on Native & Tribal law and government, business law, and national security. Former Chief Legal Officer for a Tribal Services Corporation and current faculty with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) College of Security & Business Management.
Affiliation: Director, Nuclear preparedness Department, Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority
Bio: Msc in Biology from the Arctic University of Norway
Norwegian Defence Research Establishment - research/project manager
Norwegian Ministry of Defence - Researcher
Norwegian National Security Authority - Head of section and Assistant Director
Norwegian Tax Administration - Assistant Director, risk and compliance analysis
Affiliation: Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority
Bio: Justin Gwynn is a senior scientist from the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority. Based in Tromsø as part of the High North Section, Justin has more than 20 years’ experience in working with issues on radioactivity in the Arctic. As part of the current Radioactivity Expert group under the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, he is a chapter lead for the development of the new Radioactivity in the Arctic 2025 report.
Affiliation: The Northern Forum
Bio: Founding President Marine Exchange of Alaska, emergency response diver Bering and Beaufort Sea, Underwater explosives expert, former Alaska Commissioner of Commerce and International Trade, Former Mayor of Dutch Harbor, number 1 fishing port in the US, and Arctic Goodwill Ambassador of The Northn Forum. Paul Fuhs is an active member of the Arctic Council PAME shipping experts group.
Affiliation: ITOPF
Bio: Dr. Franck Laruelle holds a PhD in marine biology from Brest University in France and previously worked with the French oil spill research organisation CEDRE for 6 years when he attended as a technical adviser on spills including ERIKA (1999) and PRESTIGE (2002). Franck joined ITOPF in 2006 and has since acted as a technical adviser on numerous maritime incidents worldwide involving tankers as well as incidents involving bunker spills from other types of ships. Franck was promoted to Technical Team Manager in January 2010. Within ITOPF, he led the Arctic response working group until 2017.
Affiliation: University of Strathclyde
Bio: Ian has a background in law and psychology. His current work focuses on supporting decisions made under conditions of risk and uncertainty in organisational and institutional contexts including public safety, defence and security sectors. His research interests cover problem structuring, risk modelling and strategic foresight.
Affiliation: St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia
Bio: Dr. Peter Kikkert is a Professor and the academic lead for the Nunavut-Nunavik Search and Rescue (SAR) Projectis the co-creator and co-organizer of the Nunavik and Nunavut SAR Roundtables. Kikkert also serves as Team Leader and Trainer with Strait Area Ground Search and Rescue, which services the largest operational area in Nova Scotia.
Affiliation: Trent University, Ontario
Bio: Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in the study of the Canadian North at Trent University. He is also the director of the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network.
Affiliation: Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay Search and Rescue, Nunavut
Bio: Calvin Aivgak Pedersen is a volunteer with Cambridge Bay Search and Rescue, manager of search and rescue at Nunavut Emergency Management, a former member of the Nunavut legislative assembly, and has served as a Canadian Ranger for 22 years. He is from Kugluktuk, Nunavut.
Bio: John Quigley’s main research interests concern risk analysis, specifically developing models to support decision making under uncertainty. His approach is socio-technical, working directly with stakeholders to co-create models. He has much experience of collaborating with multidisciplinary research teams and industrial partners to produce high impact research, including the UK Maritime Coastguard Agency, as well as working with remote communities.
Affiliation: Department of Civil Protection and Emergency management, Iceland
Bio: Andrea has a background in social work and disaster management. She has worked as a director for refugee resettlement programs and developed educational programs in disaster and crisis management. She is currently working as an expert on disaster recovery for the department of civil protection and emergency management in Iceland.
Affiliation: The Icelandic Met office
Bio:
Affiliation: Director Environmental Emergency Response, Norwegian Coastal Administration
Bio: Hans Petter Mortensholm is the director of environmental emergency response in Norway and is responsible for the national emergency preparedness against acute pollution to protect life, health, the natural environment, and business interests at sea and ashore.
Hans Petter Mortensholm has a naval background in the Royal Norwegian Navy as a navigator and command officer of several naval units.
He began his employment with Norwegian Coastal Administration in 2008 and has experience from removal of bunker oil from several WWII wrecks inside Norwegian Territorial Waters along with the wreck removal of the Russian Cruiser “Murmansk” along with handling of many pollution incidents inshore and at sea.
He was the incident commander for the plastic pellets spill in the North Sea in and the “MV Eemslift Hendrika” case, both in 2021.
Affiliation: Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador
Bio: Lee has over a decade of experience in environmental response across Canada and the U.S. He holds an M.Sc. and is completing a Ph.D. in Engineering, studying oil-sediment interactions. As an Emergencies Scientist for the Government of Canada, he provides scientific support during environmental emergencies, policy development and supports the advancement of oil spill science.
Affiliation: Former City Manager, City of Yellowknife. (2017 – 2024). Currently working as a consultant
Bio: Sheila Bassi-Kellett brings 35+ years of public sector expertise, including 4 years as Deputy Minister and over 7 years as City Manager for Yellowknife where she was recognized nationally as a Woman of Influence in Local Government. As City Manager, Sheila led the Incident Command Team responding to the 2023 wildfires that threatened Yellowknife.
2023 Wildland Fires in the Northwest Territories Canada
Health Effects of Wildland Fires on Arctic Residents
Affiliation: Center for Sami Health Research, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Bio: Dr. Broderstad is a Research Professor in epidemiology, specializing in Indigenous Health. She serves as the Academic Director at the Centre for Sami Health Research and is the Head of the SAMINOR study. Broderstad is a specialist in internal medicine and hematology.
Affiliation: EPPR Chair/Senior advisor Norwegian Coastal Administration
Bio: Mr. Ole Kristian Bjerkemo is born in Norway and his daily job is in Norwegian Coastal Administration as international coordinator. He was Chair of the Arctic Council working group for Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) from 2011 to 2015. He once again took over as EPPR Chair from May 2023.
Affiliation: Center for Crisis Management and Collaboration, Nord university Business School
Bio: James Badu holds two master's degrees in Risk Analysis and Governance (Msc.) and Information Technology (Msc.). He is working with doctoral thesis in Emergency preparedness within topics of Crisis communication and trustworthiness among crisis actors, resilience and situation awareness.
Affiliation: University College Copenhagen
Bio: Jacob Taarup-Esbensen is an Associate professor at the University College Copenhagen. Theoretical interests include approaches to risk assessments, risk governance, business continuity, and emergency response capabilities. He has focused on business continuity, resilience and risk management under Arctic conditions, working with uncertainties in the extractive industry, communities and critical infrastructure.
Affiliation: Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Norway
Bio: Dr. Mikel Dominguez Cainzos has expertise in the rescue service, with extensive knowledge of national and international SAR. He has worked on topics such as SAR in the Arctic, SAR in radiological and nuclear environments, mass rescue operations, and total defense.
Affiliation: Marine Institute, Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador
Bio: Dr. Robert Brown is a Senior Research Scientist at the Ocean Safety Research Unit at MUN’s Marine Institute. His research interests include thermal protection in maritime and Arctic survival situations, performance assessment of emergency locator beacons, modelling of maritime Search and Rescue operations, and modelling human behaviour during ship evacuation. He has contributed to several ISO standards and IMO regulations in these areas.
Affiliation: Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA)
Bio: Senior Advisor in the Nuclear Department of DEMA with over 20 years of experience as a physicist and nuclear safety policy advisor. Expert in developing and implementing national policies, providing technical expertise, and specializing in nuclear safety and Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR). Responsible for the decision support system ARGOS (Accident Reporting and Guiding Operational System) and representative for the UISE and ECURIE systems. Experienced with nuclear technology, Nuclear Propelled Vessels (NPVs), Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), and research reactor operations.
Small Modular Reactors Emergency Preparedness from an IAEA perspective
Bio: Natalia Andreassen is a professor at the Center for Crisis Management and Collaboration – Nordlab, Nord University Business School. Natalia works with research on emergency response organization, collaboration and learning, maritime and nuclear preparedness in the Arctic. She is lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Safety and Security and External Liaison to Arctic Council Working Group on Emergency Preparedness, Prevention and Response. Natalia has a Ph.D. from Nord University and a researcher background from the High North Centre focusing at maritime emergency preparedness in the Arctic.
Bio: Rune Elvegård is an Associate Professor at the Center for Crisis Management and Collaboration – Nordlab, Nord University Business School. He works with the strategic development of emergency preparedness lab, design of emergency preparedness exercise concepts and evaluation. He conducts research on Arctic maritime emergency preparedness, exercise design, complexity and nuclear safety preparedness. Rune has many years of sea going experience, pedagogical and maritime Arctic competence education background.
Affiliation: The Arctic Institute
Bio: Judy Boyd is a Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute. Her research interests include national security, geopolitics, international law, and Arctic governance. She also serves as the Senior Information Law Counsel for the United States Coast Guard and a Colonel and Judge Advocate in the United States Army Reserve.
Affiliation: Applied Research in Environmental Sciences Nonprofit, Inc. (ARIES)
Bio: Anne is an Applied Anthropologist and Archaeologist, PhD. R.P.A., applying historical ecology for Risk Management in Arctic Disaster Risk Reduction about all hazards. Partners include community-based monitors and Emergency Management for participatory action research. Facilitation between research and practice is a focus. STEAM is a priority for education and outreach.
Affiliation: RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Affiliation: RISE Fire Research
Affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)
Affiliation: Canadian Coast Guard
Bio: Kevin Knapp is the Deputy Superintendent of Marine Environmental and Hazards Response for the Canadian Coast Guard Arctic Region. His team is responsible for community preparedness and planning initiatives across the region, and are the lead responders for marine pollution incidents in the Eastern Arctic.
Affiliation: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Bio: Dr. Troy J. Bouffard, U.S. Army (Ret.), has a Ph.D. in Arctic Defense and Security at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He is the director of the UAF Center for Arctic Security and Resilience (CASR), a research fellow at West Point – Modern War Institute, and former Arctic Advisor in the U.S. Senate as a congressional fellow.
Affiliation: Co-Chair, Gwich’in Council International
Bio: Edward Alexander represents Gwich’in internationally as the Co-Chair of Gwich’in Council International and has been appointed by the Chiefs of Alaska for multiple terms in this role. He serves as the Head of Delegation to the Senior Arctic Officials, and to the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) and Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (EPPR) Working Groups of the Arctic Council. Additionally, he serves as the Co-Lead of the Arctic Council’s Chairship Initiative on Wildland Fire. He also served as the 2nd Chief of the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in for seven years.
Edward has a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and a current Type A Alaska Teaching Certification. He found wildland fire for eight seasons across Alaska and the western United States. He has worked as a secondary teacher, principal, in administration, managing the University of Alaska’s Yukon Flats Campus, and as the Education Director for the thirty seven tribes of the Tanana Chiefs Conference.
He founded and operates the consulting firm “The Village Consultants” which is focused on tribal sovereignty, village development, Indigenous education, and climate issues. Additionally, Edward founded and operates a small family farm, “Gwich’in Grown” which is dedicated to organic and regenerative agricultural and land management practices, which produces broiler chickens, eggs, and seasonal vegetables. In 2025, Edward joined the Woodwell Climate Research Center, serving as the Senior Arctic Lead.
Affiliation: Norwegian Red Cross
Bio: Ellen Gilbert is the team leader for Health Preparedness and Protection in the domestic department at the Norwegian Red Cross. Gilbert has more than 10 years of experience in the field of psychosocial support and protection both nationally and internationally. She has a particular interest in the care of volunteers and staff that have contributed to emergency response.
Psychosocial Support for Volunteers Involved in Challenging Missions
Affiliation: Karlstad University
Bio: Henrik Rahm is Professor of Swedish Linguistics at Karlstad University. His current research is primarily focused on two interdisciplinary projects on SMRs and nuclear discourse, one on emergency preparedness and one on communication. The common denominator for his research is language, communication social settings and discourse analyses.
Affiliation: Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority – Section Head Logistic and Emergency preparedness
Bio: Jan Ketil Moberg has worked in Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) since 2010 and has been Section Head Logistic and Emergency preparedness since 2016. Before that, he has worked in the petroleum industry since 1988 where 20 of them was at ConocoPhillips in various positions. Jan Ketil Moberg have a master’s degree within Risk and Safety Management, and he is an engineer within maintenance, technical safety and maritime technical systems.
Shared use of emergency preparedness resources
Affiliation: MET Norway
Bio: Senior Forecaster and Deputy Head of Division for Forecasting Oslo, MET Norway. Been working at MET since 2001, mainly with weather forecasting and weather services to partners in the public sector. Deputy Head since 2020, with added focus on weather warnings.
Weather Forecasts and Weather Warnings in the Arctic
Affiliation: MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation
Bio: Stijn Van de Velde is a researcher at the MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation in Oslo. During the pandemic, WHO partnered with MAGIC to develop the COVID-19 treatment guidelines, shaping the global healthcare responses. Earlier, Stijn worked with the Red Cross, earning his PhD in Evidence-Based Practice in first aid. Now, he focuses on emergency response in the Arctic and underserved populations worldwide.
Lay Responders in Emergency Care for Underserved Populations in the North: A Systematic Mixed Methods Review (LAYCAREMIX)
Affiliation: Anishinaabeg of Kabapikotawangag Resource Council Inc. (AKRC)
Bio: Jasneet Mander graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Honours in Disaster and Emergency Management and a Professional Certificate in Public Policy Analysis. She has experience working in the City of Toronto and is now a Social Emergency Manager at AKRC, supporting First Nation communities in Northern Ontario.
Getting Prepared in Indigenous Communities
Affiliation: Life2Taiga, County Administrative Board of Västmanland
Bio: Dr. Julia Carlsson is the project manager for the EU-funded Life2Taiga-project, which is conducting prescribed burning in nature reserves in Sweden and Finland. Project time: Oct 2022 – Dec 2028, funding 23.5 million €.
Bringing Life to the Taiga - Fire management as a method for restoring ecosystem health in pine forests
Affiliation: Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
Bio: Dr. Floris Goerlandt is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Risk Management and Resource Optimization for Marine Industries. His research interests include risk assessment and management, Search and Rescue, area-based management of shipping, and resilience of maritime transportation systems. He has published over 150 articles on these topics.
Affiliation: Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS
Bio: Kimia Mostaghimi is a Master of Applied Science graduate from Dalhousie’s Department of Industrial Engineering. Her research focused on developing an approach to assess the response time of maritime vessels to a distressed vessel in the Canadian Arctic. She currently works as a Safety Risk Analyst at Metrolinx.
Affiliation: Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL
Bio: Mohammad Zarrin Mehr is a Master of Maritime Studies graduate from MUN’s Marine Institute. His research focused on developing a model to assess the response time of SAR helicopters to a distressed vessel in Atlantic Canada. He currently works as a Senior Fire Protection & Process Safety Engineer at Hatch.
Bio: Parsa Rezaei is a Master of Applied Science graduate from Dalhousie’s Department of Industrial Engineering. His research focused on developing a model to assess on-site rescue time to a distressed vessel in the Canadian Arctic by SAR assets. He currently works as a Process Improvement Engineer at Tower Engineering Professionals.
Affiliation: Hammurabi Consulting, Halifax, NS
Bio: Jack Gallagher is a Master Mariner who served 22 years with the Canadian Coast Guard before founding Hammurabi Consulting. His work spans policy, risk assessment, auditing, training, and operations. He has also taught at the Center for Marine Simulation and lectured at universities in Canada, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
Bio: Dr. Ronald Pelot is Professor with research interests in maritime safety, environmental risks, spatial analyses, vessel traffic modeling, data analytics, response resource allocation, and risk assessment methods. From 2012 to 2022, he was Associate Scientific Director of the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network of Centres of Excellence.
Affiliation: Marine Information Technologies LLC
Bio: Aleksei Buinyi has a background in physical oceanography and specializes in polar sciences. His research spans ocean circulation, wave dynamics, and satellite data analysis. He has also developed a growing interest in signal processing, deep learning, and metocean studies, with a strong emphasis on real-world applications.
Integrating Evolutionary Programming into Ensemble Deep Learning for Advanced Short-Term Sea Ice Forecasting in the Kara Sea
Affiliation: Aleut International Association (AIA)
Bio: Karen Pletnikoff is the Environment & Safety Program Administrator at the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, where she provides technical assistance to Tribal Environmental Programs, supports Co-Management, and oversees the regional Tribal Environmental Response Program. At Aleut International Association, she serves as the Head of Delegation for the EPPR working group.
Affiliation: Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Norway / EPPR SAR expert Group
Bio: Mr. Hongset has worked for 20years as a SAR controller/SAR mission Coordinator at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre North Norway in Bodø. He is also involved in EPPR, in the SAR expert group, and also represents JRCC North Norway in the Arctic Coast Guard Forum.
Are we prepared for the large cruise ship incident in the high Arctic?
Affiliation: Joint Arctic Command / EPPR SAR expert Group
Bio: Commander Larsen holds the position as the head of delegation for the Kingdom of Denmark to EPPR, as well as representative in the EPPR SAR Expert group. Present portfolio: Arctic SAR at policy and international level. Previously been assigned as senior watch captain at JRCC Denmark for a decade. Professional background: Royal Danish Navy, ships masters certificate, commanding officer in submarines.
Affiliation: the Finnish Association of Fire Officers
Bio: Joel Kauppinen is Senior Specialist at the Finnish Association of Fire Officers. With an M.Phil in geography and firefighter training, he focuses on developing rescue services. He is specialized in the Arctic environment, rural areas and sustainable development.
Affiliation: Senior Advisor – Northern Norway Regional Health Authority
Bio: Carl-Fredrik Donjem has a military background, studied medicine in Tromsø and has an MBA focusing on leadership from Nord University. Is now working on health preparedness in the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority
Affiliation: Nord University, Faculty of Social Science
Bio: Halås is professor in social work, and leader of PrepChild, Research center for children and youth, and social preparedness. She has led and taken part in a range of collaborative projects and has special competence about children and youth in vulnerable life situations.
Bio: Professor Breimo specializes in the governance of welfare services and is the co- leader of the PrepChild Research Center for children and youth and social preparedness.
Bio: Jasmine Biswokarma, a high school junior, is a citizen scientist and lab assistant researching the tundra microbiome at Iḷisaġvik College. She has presented Arctic research on coastal erosion and microbiomes at national conferences and is passionate about developing nature-based solutions for a more sustainable future.
Bio: Yvonne Biswokarma is an ARIES board member and Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy (DScPT) with a focus on research and higher education. Living and working in the Arctic community of Utqiaġvik, she is dedicated to sustainable solutions for climate challenges and creating a better world for future generations.