National Emergency Response & Recovery Training Center
Nov 10, 2021 12:00 PM
Hank Lawson - NERRTC Director
National Emergency Response & Recovery Training Center
Hank Lawson is the Director of Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s (TEEX) National Emergency Reponse and Recovery Training Center (NERRTC), a member of the Texas A&M University System. NERRTC was established in 1998 to enhance the capabilities of emergency responders and local officials nationwide to prepare for, respond to, and recover from catastrophic events resulting from natural disasters, man-made accidents, or terrorist attacks. As a founding member of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, NERRTC has provided regional, state, and local jurisdictions with high-quality, hands-on, scenario-driven leadership training, exercises, technical assistance, and strategy development.
 
He has a long history of working with military, international, government and non-governmental organizations,
extensive experience in simulations and gaming. During his tenure as Director of Operations for NERRTC, the divisions conducted more than 400 exercises for the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Texas Division of Emergency Management, as well as other state and local jurisdictions and organizations that included the private sector, hospitals, and schools. The exercises included all categories of WMD along with cyber, foreign animal diseases, natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding),  business continuity, critical infrastructure, and school incident exercises.
 
Lawson joined TEEX after more than 27 years as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a Marine, he served in diverse assignments that included participation in security and peacekeeping operations, contingency planning for US forces, and tours in the offices of the Secretary of Defense, Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict and the Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs. He was an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College.
 
In 2009, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents honored Lawson with the Regents Fellow Service Award. The annual award is the highest honor given by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents and recognizes employees who have made exemplary contributions to their university, agency and to the people of Texas and beyond. Lawson has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and a master’s degree in System Technology, Space Systems Operations from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.