​Current and Upcoming Activities

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• In response to the devastating January 2025 wildfires in southern California, Laurie Johnson is a coprincipal investigator on a National Science Foundation study of recovery and resilience efforts in the first years following the fire. She also served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire Safe Recovery formed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath. Here is a link to one of Laurie's interviews on NPR and WBUR's "Here and Now" episode on January 22, 2025, and to an article by Laurie and long-time recovery research collaborator, Rob Olshansky, for the California Planning and Development Report on best practices on planning and managing disaster recovery.

• Laurie Johnson served as research study director for the Senate Bill 254 (2025) Natural Catastrophe Resiliency Study, published in April 2026. It was requested by the California Legislature and Governor Newsom to provide a comprehensive set of potential policy options to enhance statewide catastrophe resiliency – climate change and the attainment of long-range clean energy goals; the resiliency of communities, homes and people to wildfire and other natural disasters; and the stability and affordability of California's property insurance market and electricity. Nearly 100 stakeholder submissions and state agency contributions to the study are also available at the study's website.

Notable Recent Activities

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• The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has awarded Laurie Johnson with Honorary Membership in 2026 and the Alfred E. Alquist Special Recognition Medal in 2024 both in recognition of her extensive work and dedication in improving the seismic safety and resilience of urban environments and communities by reducing, managing, and communicating risks from earthquakes around the world. The Alquist Medal recognizes an individual, company, or organization that has made substantial contributions to the field of seismic safety and earthquake risk reduction, directly serving the public good. 

• At the 50th anniversary celebration of the Applied Technology Council on December 8, 2023, Laurie received the ATC Award of Excellence for Extraordinary Achievement in Improving Multi-Hazard Assessment of Lifeline System Performance. She was honored for her leadership in the ATC-102 Project, which developed NIST GCR 14-917-33, Earthquake-Resilient Lifelines: NEHRP Research, Development and Implementation Roadmap. That roadmap report provided guidance to NIST and other National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) agencies for future investments in the development of guidelines, manuals, and standards for key lifeline systems and components.  Laurie also served in a leadership role in the ATC-126 project, which produced NIST GCR 16-917-39, Critical Assessment of Lifeline Performance: Understanding Societal Needs in Disaster Recovery. She also served as the FEMA subject matter expert for the ATC-150 Project, which developed FEMA P-2234, A Framework to Establish Lifeline Infrastructure System Service Recovery Objectives for Seismic Resilience (in publication), and a lead author of NIST Special Publication SP-1310, Initial Framework to Design Lifeline Infrastructure for Post-Earthquake Functional Recovery Volume 1. The award citation noted that in all these projects, Laurie demonstrated exceptional leadership in the formulation of reports and guidelines that have become the foundation for lifeline system performance evaluation.

• In January 2023, Laurie Johnson joined the Board of Trustees of GeoHazards International, an international not-for-profit working alongside at-risk, underserved communities threatened by earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and climate-related hazards. GHI's 30 years of work have spanned over 20 countries at local, regional, national, and international levels.

• Laurie Johnson was elected chair of the Advisory Board of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation in June 2023. The GEM Foundation is a non-profit, public-private partnership based in Pavia, Italy, working to create a world that is resilient to earthquakes. GEM is a global collaboration to develop scientific and high-quality resources for transparent assessment of earthquake risk and to facilitate their application for risk management globally.​

• Planning for Disaster-Induced Relocation of Communities," by Balakrishnan Balachandran, Robert B. Olshansky, and Laurie A. Johnson was published in the Journal of the American Planning Association in 2022 and covered in the APA blog post. Johnson and co-authors examined the dynamics of disaster-induced relocation processes through a conceptual framework consisting of five interrelated elements: 1) the natural science; 2) the risk decision; 3) the community’s relationship to place; 4) the relocation process, land, and money; and 5) the historical, social, and political context. This research draws from analyses of 53 cases of community relocation, including many that the authors directly researched or worked on. This framework is introduced as a way for planners to systematically approach the task of evaluating and implementing proposed disaster-induced relocations.

• The March 21, 2020 edition of the San Francisco Examiner features an opinion piece by Laura Tam and Laurie Johnson on Improving hazard resilience in the Bay Area, which is the subject of the SPUR Safety First briefing paper that the two authored and recently released as part of SPUR's Regional Strategy, a 50-year vision for how the Bay Area of 2070 can be more equitable, sustainable and resilient. They propose 12 policy recommendations for how the Bay Area can improve data and information gathering, codes and standards, community planning and funding for resilience to multiple hazards.

• Election to Fellow is one of the highest honors that the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) bestows upon a member. Laurie Johnson was inducted into the 2018 Class of the AICP College of Fellows at the National Planning Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her nomination came from the Women and Planning division of the American Planning Association for her significant contributions in helping planners and communities address the complex urban challenges posed by natural disasters and changing climates.