Elyssa Tappero

Elyssa Tappero serves as the Tsunami Program Manager for the Emergency Management Division (EMD) of the Washington State Military Department. She is a respected subject matter expert on tsunami mitigation, alerting, response, evacuation planning, and vertical evacuation structures, and community education for local, tribal, state, federal, and international stakeholders. Through an annual National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service grant, Tappero coordinates a wide variety of state and national-level projects that aim to improve tsunami hazard resiliency in the United States. She is passionate about advocating for stronger diversity and equity initiatives and providing accessibility resources and training to stakeholders. Prior to her time with EMD, Tappero provided disaster preparedness training through the American Red Cross, as well as managed federal research grants with The Geneva Foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geoscience and a bachelor's degree in history from Pacific Lutheran University.