Bio: Darrin Punchard is an urban planner and floodplain manager who has spent his entire career working with local communities to become more resilient to disaster. He has 17 years of experience in hazard mitigation planning with specialized expertise in GIS-based risk assessment, benefit-cost analysis, and the development of actionable mitigation strategies to include structural and non-structural measures for risk reduction. Since 2001 he has served as a consultant to federal, state, regional, tribal and local government agencies across the United States to assess and reduce their jurisdiction’s vulnerability to natural and technological hazards. He prepared some of the nation’s first FEMA-approved local hazard mitigation plans and has assisted more than 500 communities gain compliance with the federal Stafford Act as amended by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000). He has also helped communities prepare local floodplain management plans that have achieved among the highest credit scores in the nation under FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS). Darrin’s public service career includes serving as state hazard mitigation officer for North Carolina where he coordinated FEMA’s Project Impact program and launched the State’s Hazard Mitigation Planning Initiative, a statewide effort to promote the voluntary development of local hazard mitigation plans prior to DMA 2000. His career began in Florida where he worked as a local hazard mitigation planner for Alachua County, and later as a state mitigation planner for the Florida Division of Emergency Management where he helped launch the Local Mitigation Strategy initiative, the first statewide program requiring the preparation of community-based hazard mitigation plans.
Education: Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida. Bachelor of Arts in Marine Affairs/Coastal Zone Management, University of Rhode Island.
Bio: Mr. Walther has over 46 years of experience in urban and regional planning; however, over the past 15 years his focus has been on issues related to hazard mitigation, long term recovery planning, climate adaptation and wildland fire mitigation projects. He has been a member of the Florida State Hazard Mitigation Planning Advisory Team since 2004 serving as a representative of the Florida APA. He serves as a board member of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association. Presently he is on a consultant team working on a Disaster Recovery and Long-Term Resiliency Plan for the Mad River Valley, Vermont. He served as Project Director for a study that focused on integrating hazards and the vulnerabilities associated with them into comprehensive plans by providing local governments with a data Profile that included a hazard risk assessment along with recommendations. The effort included conducting five regional workshops. Another study involved advocating the inclusion of hazards into Charlotte County/Punta Gorda MPO's Long-Range Transportation Plan. Mr. Walther has spent a number of years working in a proactive manner on the issue of long-term disaster recovery. This involved developing a Post-Disaster Redevelopment Planning Guide for the Florida Department of Community Affairs. The contents of the Guide reflected the efforts of six pilot post-disaster long-term recovery plans. The largest pilot involved Hillsborough County, FL, a county with a diverse number of potential post-disaster recovery issues. Mr. Walther is involved in preparing a number of county Community Wildfire Protection Plans for the Florida Forest Service.
Education: Master of Science, Urban & Regional Planning, Florida State University, 1970. Bachelor of Arts, Social Studies, University of South Florida, 1965.
Key Publications: Integration of Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) Plans into Local Comprehensive Plans (2005-2006). Taking the High Road – Integrating Hazard Mitigation into Long-Range Transportation Planning (2010). Post-Disaster Redevelopment Planning – A Guide for Florida Communities (2010). Hillsborough County, FL Countywide Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan (2010).
Past Assignments: New Partners for Smart Growth and Disaster Recovery, Long-Term Recovery, San Diego, 2012. APA Planning Training Service (PTS) Sustainable Zoning & Development Controls, Tampa, 2012. APA PTS Hazard Resiliency, Climate Adaptation, and Disaster Redevelopment, Ft. Worth, 2011. APA PTS Sustainable Zoning & Development Controls, Ft. Lauderdale, 2010. APA National Conference, Planning for a Disaster Resistant Community, 2010. Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference, Building Community Resiliency into Pre and Post-Disaster Planning, 2010.
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