Dave Filson
Dave Filson is the state program leader for Emergency Readiness and rural health and safety, and partnership leader for Penn State Cooperative Extension.
As emergency preparedness and response coordinator, he coordinates the communication and interaction among Cooperative Extension administration, faculty and field-based educators, and agencies that include the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security, and County Emergency Management Agencies. In this role, Filson helps ensure Penn State Cooperative Extension's preparedness to be an effective and key part in emergency situations. He is also a partnership leader for Penn State Cooperative Extension, serving as the extension director’s office liaison with state and federal agencies, and other organizations.
Filson has provided invited testimony at field hearings and a congressional briefing, including the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He facilitated a workshop between U.S. Department of Homeland Security staff and national agricultural industry representatives on the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards and is providing expert agricultural advice to Homeland Security in the rewriting of the National Preparedness Guidelines Target Capabilities List for animal health. He has been a facilitator at national workshops for homeland security and agriculture sector representatives held in several FEMA regions.
Filson is the current chair for the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN).