Northwest Preparedness and Resilience Conference

A draft agenda will soon be posted.

The Northwest Preparedness and Resilience Conference has a reserved block of rooms at the Residence Inn by Marriott, Seattle, University District. Standard rooms are available for booking at an event-specific rate until Friday, August 14, 2026. After August 14th, individuals may still book at the Residence Inn by Marriott as room availability allows, but will not be eligible for the room block or our event-specific rate.

Visit the Hotel’s Booking Portal

Hotel venue logistics:

• Residence Inn by Marriott – 4501 12th Avenue NE Seattle, Washington, USA, 98105.
• Commute times from the hotel to the conference venue are as follows:
• Drive: 5 mins
• Public Transportation (Bus): 7 mins
• Walk: 13 mins
• Please note that individual cancellations must be made 24 hours prior to arrival or a fee of one night plus tax will apply.
• Overnight parking is available onsite at $35 a night plus taxes.

Contact information:

• For questions regarding the room block or standing reservations, please contact clara.miller@marriott.com or call (206) 548-8719.
• For conference attendees receiving travel accommodations, please contact Theresa Sabala, tsabala@uw.edu, with any questions.

Are there any discounts for registration?
Yes, registration discount codes are available* for the following, select groups:

• Local, state and tribal public health attendees
• Tribal organizations
• Full-time Students
• Community / Faith-based organizations

If you qualify with one of these groups, please contact us at cdrc-conference@uw.edu to inquire for a code. *Codes are available while supplies last.

If you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact our planning team at cdrc-conference@uw.edu.

Thank you to those who attended the inaugural 2025 Northwest Preparedness and Resilience Conference. More than 100 representatives and partners working in disasters and community resilience came together to share expertise during our two-day conference in Seattle last September. For more reflections on the conference, please visit our blog or view the conference photo gallery.

September is Preparedness Month. As part of the month’s activities, the Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (NWPHEPR) – which is housed in the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities – will be holding a two-day, in-person conference on the University of Washington’s Seattle Campus.

The Northwest Preparedness & Resilience Conference will feature speakers and sessions based on regional public health preparedness topics, including workforce and communications. Conference participants will have opportunities to share and learn from peers across the region through oral and poster presentation sessions. Participants will also have an opportunity to inform the regional center’s future work through an interactive workshop.

Logistics

• When: September 9-10, 2025
• Location: University of Washington, Seattle Campus
• Registration for the conference is complimentary
• Both days include breakfast and lunch
• Discounted hotel rooms will be available for attendees

Registration

Capacity for the conference is limited, and we hope to invite a balance of colleagues from around the region. If you are interested in attending, please complete our registration form and we will add you to our waitlist.

Agenda

The conference will feature a mix of plenary and breakout sessions covering a range of different topics.

Review the Full Agenda

Keynote speakers

Tara Kirk-Sell
Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Tara Kirk Sell is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

She leads the Region 3 Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response and focuses her work on preparedness, public trust, and risk communication. She led work on the TRUST in Public Health project and the Practical Playbook to Address Health Rumors, both funded by CDC. Prior to her work in academia, she was a professional athlete and won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics.

Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer
Director of Climate Initiatives, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Division of Environmental Health & Engineering (DEHE)

Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer, an Iñupiaq from Kotzebue, Alaska, is the Director of Climate Initiatives program at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. For decades she has worked across Alaska holistically infusing indigenous knowledge into a variety of sectors she has experience in, including comprehensive planning, energy, housing, water security, sanitation and climate change adaptation for rural communities. Her current work includes leading the team of the Center for Climate and Health and the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities within the Climate Initiatives program.

Qataliña has co-authored six regional Energy Plans for the State of Alaska, the Oscarville Tribal Adaptation Plan, 2019. She was instrumental in the publication of the Unmet Needs Report for Environmentally Threatened Alaska Native Villages, 2024. She is a Co-PI on the Human Wellbeing team for the Study of Environmental Arctic Change, serves on the National Academies Board on Environmental Change and Society (BECS) and as a Board Director for Arctic Encounter Symposium and Rural Community Assistance Corporation. Qataliña also enjoys traditional sewing, art, mentoring youth and young leaders, and is passionate about designing fashion for modern Inuk. Her designs have featured in Santa Fe: Museum of International Folk Art, Anchorage, Alaska: Anchorage Museum, La Connor, Washington: Museum of Northwest Art, Juneau, Alaska: Alaska State Museum, Bunnell Street Art Center, Portland, Oregon: Native Arts and Culture Foundation Museum, and Tulsa, Oklahoma: Tulsa Living Arts Museum.