Crisis Communication Expert
Topics: Emergency Response, Cybersecurity, Long-Term Recovery, Hazard Mitigation, Business Preparedness
A seasoned emergency manager with significant public and private sector experience, LTC Joseph T. Booth most recently served as the executive director of the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute at Louisiana State University, where he built and opened the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center, a highly acclaimed model of public/private sector partnering for disaster survival and community resilience.
Booth led the creation and staffing of new LSU Transformational Technologies & Cyber Research Center at LSU, which specializes in applied research for the defense, intelligence, homeland security, and disaster management enterprises. He also formed the Center for Business Preparedness, which focuses on societal resilience through the small- and medium-sized business community.
Booth also oversaw the creation of SDMI’s Disaster Lab, which is performing GIS work for the State of Louisiana, as well as creating new information tools for the disaster management and first responder community. During Hurricane Isaac in 2012, SDMI produced GIS modeling which not only provided storm track forecasting but consequence modeling for a new level of disaster forecasting.
Most recently, Booth has begun a cybersecurity initiative to close the gap between the private sector and the state and local disaster managers and is hosting a joint National Guard and LSU cyber range and laboratory. This information sharing and analysis program will provide greater awareness and cooperation between critical infrastructure partners and first responders. The Louisiana Technology Council recently recognized his work and awarded him its Governor’s Technology Award for Technology Innovation.
Booth is a former Deputy Superintendent of Louisiana State Police, serving as the Chief of Crisis Response and Special Operations at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel until his retirement in 2006. In this capacity he oversaw some of the largest hazardous material responses in U.S. history, led the Louisiana response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, as well as leading responses to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and others. He has also previously been employed by Northrop Grumman’s Information Technology sector, as a director of public safety and homeland security accounts, working to transition sophisticated capabilities to state and local government leaders.
Booth was appointed to the Partnership for Recovery, Japan Task Force, and twice traveled to Japan for meetings with senior government and private sector leaders, and contributed to the Task Force report. Most recently he was the guest of the Australian Attorney General at their Australian Emergency Management Institute where was a featured speaker on strategic foresight and also the future of social media in disaster management. He is a frequent speaker on disaster management and response at national and international forums.
Booth received a Juris Doctor from Southern University Law School in 1998, a masters from Northeast Louisiana University in 1977 and a bachelor’s from Southeast Louisiana University in 1976.