Scroll Top
Roberto Porro
Knauss Fellow 2022
Education
MA Urban Planning, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Graduate Certificate in Disaster Management, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
BS Ocean Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology
Roberto Porro
Address:

2525 Correa Rd., HIG 238
Honolulu, HI 96822

Roberto Porro is part of the 2022 cohort of the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship in the executive branch. He has been placed in a joint-position as the Coastal Hazards and Mitigation Specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Coastal States Organization (CSO), a non-profit organization representing state and territory coastal management programs. Roberto will be working in the Community Infrastructure Resilience Branch within the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Division of FEMA, and will be leading CSO’s Coastal Hazards Planning and Adaptation Work Group. In this unique position, Roberto will serve as a communication link between HMA and CSO’s members helping to ensure that coastal stakeholders are aware of and have access to FEMA resources and that HMA programs are designed and implemented to maximize effective assistance for coastal communities.

Prior to the Knauss Fellowship, Roberto served as the Coastal Program Manager at the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaiʻi, where he developed FEMA-certified training and conducted research related to hazards planning and disaster recovery. Roberto previously served as a Civil Engineer Corps Officer and as a civil engineer for the U.S. Navy, managing construction and facilities programs in San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Originally from West Palm Beach, FL, Roberto received a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a M.A in Urban Planning and Graduate Certificate in Disaster Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban Planning at the University of Hawaiʻi, focusing on climate adaptation planning in coastal communities. Having lived along the coast for most of his life, Roberto is passionate about the issues and challenges facing coastal communities amid climate change. Through his research and the knowledge gained from the Knauss Fellowship, he hopes to contribute to solutions to make coastal communities and ecosystems more resilient.

IN THIS SECTION