Dr. Paul A. Robinson
Dr. Robinson is currently the Executive Director of RISE, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing innovative technologies in the resilience sector. Norfolk Virginia, where RISE is based, is one of the country’s communities most threatened by sea level rise. Funded at $10M, RISE aims to grow resilience-related businesses in the Hampton Roads region and assist in access to the worldwide market for their technologies.
Dr. Robinson is the founder and CEO of AeroTech Research, a company specializing in weather hazard detection for aircraft. Dr. Robinson is also Senior Advisor to Focus Investment Bank, in the areas of Government, Aerospace, and Defense. He is also a member of a local angel investment group 757 Angels, and Abundance 360. He also works with several startups in technical and managerial roles.
Dr. Katerina Oskarsson
Dr. Katerina Oskarsson serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of RISE. Previously, she was the Deputy Chief Resilience Officer at the City of Norfolk where she worked on the development and implementation of the City’s Resilience Strategy as part of the City’s participation in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program. In that role, she also worked on the development and implementation of the winning proposal of $120 million from the HUD National Disaster Resilience Competition. At the same time she worked as an adjunct Faculty at Old Dominion University, teaching courses in International Political Economy and the United Nations.
Previously, Dr. Oskarsson worked as Knowledge Manager at the NATO Civil Military Fusion Center and as a remote Analyst for NATO Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Center’s Crisis Identification Group in Brussels. She continues to work with NATO on resilience-related projects. Prior to that, Dr. Oskarsson served as a Research Associate with the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, and as a Doctoral Researcher at Old Dominion University and the Joint Forces Staff College. Before relocating to the United States, Dr. Oskarsson worked as an energy sector Desk Officer at CEZ Group, one of the largest energy conglomerates in Central Europe.
Her work has been published by the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities, various NATO agencies, Journal of Energy Security, Energy Security Forum, Middle East Policy, and The Middle East Journal. She has co-authored “Challenged Hegemony” book published by the Stanford University Press in 2018. Dr. Oskarsson earned accelerated B.A./M.A. and Ph.D. in International Studies from Old Dominion University.
Board of Directors
Anne C. H. Conner, President of Public Finance and Community Investment Officer, Towne Bank
Paul Hirschbiel, President, Eden Capital
Evans McMillion, Vice President of Research and Strategy, Reinvent Hampton Roads
Ann C. Phillips, Owner/Principal, Rear Admiral (Ret.), A.C. Phillips, LLC
Drew Ungvarsky, CEO and Executive Creative Director, Grow