Mark Benthien is the director of public education and preparedness for the Statewide California Earthquake Center, headquartered at the University of Southern California (USC). Benthien received a Bachelor of Science in geophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in public policy from USC. Benthien communicates earthquake and tsunami knowledge in order to increase awareness, reduce economic losses, and save lives. Many of these efforts are in coordination with members of the Earthquake Country Alliance, a California-focused public-private-grassroots partnership of people and organizations that provide earthquake information, for which Benthien serves as executive director and lead organizer of the annual Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill, involving 10 million participants each year. He also coordinates with ShakeOut regions across the U.S. and around the world (see ShakeOut.org), for which, in 2012, he was recognized as a White House Champion of Change. He also recruits participation in California’s Tsunami Preparedness week (along with similar exercises in other states and the Caribbean) via TsunamiZone.org.