Roy Wright is a disaster safety expert and recognized resiliency shaper. For two decades, he’s served in roles that put him on the ground in the immediate aftermath of weather-driven and climate-related disasters, walking through damaged homes with survivors and leading the charge for stronger construction standards, enhanced mitigation efforts, and better building codes.
A former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official, Wright joined the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) in 2018 with experience in property insurance, risk management, mitigation, climate adaptation, and resilience planning.
Convinced that the continuing cycle of human suffering that strikes families and communities in the wake of severe weather can be broken, Wright leads a team of scientists and risk communicators who deliver strategies to build safer and stronger homes and businesses. His team uses a state-of-the-art research facility to conduct realistic re-creations of severe weather on full-scale structures. IBHS’s real-world impact enables the insurance industry and affected property owners to prevent avoidable losses.
Wright connects stakeholders across the insurance and construction industries to strengthen our built environment and to stop the cycle of repeated avoidable loss.
Wright joined IBHS from FEMA, serving as the chief executive of the National Flood Insurance Program, led the agency’s Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, and directed the resilience programs addressing earthquake, fire, flood, and wind risks.
A native of California, Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Azusa Pacific University and a Master of Public Administration from George Washington University.