Ponmile Olonilua is an associate professor in the Political Science Department at Texas Southern University where she was the first doctoral candidate to receive a PhD in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy in 2006. Olonilua was a Mary Fran Myers Scholarship award winner in 2009; which allowed her to attend her first Natural Hazards Workshop that year. She has been a regular attendee every year since. She is now the Continuing Education Credit Coordinator for the Natural Hazards Workshop, a Board Member of the Natural Hazards Mitigation Association, and a member of the Texas Floodplain Managers Association. Olonilua teaches emergency management and homeland security at Texas Southern University and is a certified floodplain manager. Olonilua is also a hazard mitigation/floodplain management plan reviewer for Community Rating System credits with the Insurance Services Office (ISO). She has published her research in several journals including the Journal of Emergency Management, Journal of Risks, Hazards, Crisis, and Public Policy, and World Health and Medical Policy.