Annual Conference

November 9, 2026

The Next Breakthrough in Resilience Starts with the People in the Room … We’ve Reserved You a Seat.

With one week to go before we kick off the 2026 National Disaster Resilience Conference (NDRC26), I can’t contain my excitement.

And as I plan for NDRC26 and the opportunity to lean into big thinking, I often return to this inspirational story.

In the late 1870s, French obstetrician Stéphane Tarnier visited the Paris Zoo, taking a break from the heartbreaking challenges of steadily rising infant mortality at the Paris Hospital. While there, he became intrigued by boxes full of baby chickens. The boxes had water bottles underneath to keep the tiny chicks warm.

He immediately recognized how this clever practice could help overcome one of the greatest challenges for premature infants—staying warm. He hired the zoo’s poultry keeper to build a similar device for human babies.

The resulting infant incubator created a heated enclosure to help premature babies maintain their body temperature. It worked. After implementation, the Paris maternity hospital reported a 42% reduction in deaths between 1879 and 1882 among babies weighing under 4.4 pounds. This marked the beginning of a landmark medical solution still used today.

You can read more about this incredible leap of imagination by Dr. Tarnier and much more in the excellent book by Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.

For me, the “baby chicks” lesson is that to innovate, we should create environments where imagination and diverse thinking can flourish. And we should never overlook serendipity.

That is why the NDRC brings together a diverse group of professionals and has earned the nickname “idea incubator.”

So what happens when you bring a scientist, a homebuilder, an insurer, a meteorologist, an engineer, and a communicator together to solve a problem?

Sometimes, you get an idea that leads to a one-of-a-kind project at Walt Disney World.

Sometimes, you get a tool that makes building code information accessible to anyone with an address.

Always, we learn anew that powerful solutions often come from nontraditional partners imagining the future.

This year’s NDRC theme, Delivering the D.R.E.A.M.—Durable, Resilient, Energy-efficient, Affordable, and Modern homes, defines our aspiration as we come together to make resilient housing attainable for more families.

We have an extraordinary lineup to help us.

  • Broadcast Meteorology Trends: National Weather Service Office of Future Readiness Director Mike Coyne and Dr. Rick Knabb of The Weather Channel will lead a dialogue sharing new trends in how weather pros communicate risk.
  • Housing affordability: University of Alabama researchers Dr. Lars Powell and Dr. Shane Crawford will share their landmark study on building codes and home prices.
  • Severe-storm science: IBHS Chief Engineer Dr. Anne Cope will detail research and engineering insights into the top catastrophe loss driver—severe convective storms.
  • Breakthrough thinking: Oregon State University engineering dean Dr. Forrest Masters will deliver a “Mind Stretch” to explore ideas that could reshape resilient construction.
  • Resilience at scale: Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple will highlight how he is leading resilience policies to deliver mitigation, insurance incentives, and a steadily improving market.
  • Building and selling stronger homes: Builder Jason Meadows and Realtor Andrea Meadows will join The Weather Channel’s Dr. Rick Knabb and share what these critical professionals need to advance resilience.
  • Resilient recovery: FLASH Executive Vice President Eric Vaughn will lead a discussion featuring nonprofit recovery leaders joining the Strong Homes program.
  • The MVP Protective Feature: NIST’s Dr. Marc Levitan, DASMA’s David Monsour, and Haas Door’s Kent Nafziger will examine wind-rated garage doors.

The program also connects earthquake resilience, wildfire prevention, financing, flood-risk communication, and building-code advancement. Hearing these perspectives together creates a unique opportunity for breakthrough thinking.

Our record reflects ambitious NDRC ideas that have become reality.

Twenty years ago, an idea took shape at NDRC2006: What if we could bring disaster safety into one of the world’s most imaginative and fun learning environments?

The 2006 gathering became the incubator for the award-winning StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes at Epcot. What began as an ambitious notion became an interactive experience that brought resilient homebuilding to life for more than 5.8 million Disney guests. Engineering, storytelling, private-sector support, and a shared commitment to protecting families made it possible.

StormStruck demonstrated something we continue to believe: when people with different expertise work toward a common purpose, they can break down barriers and achieve outcomes they could never reach alone.

Our landmark Inspect2Protect.org tool reflects that same commitment to connecting knowledge with action. It makes information about building codes, disaster history, and ways to strengthen homes accessible to the people who need it. Its Strong Homes Scale helps consumers explore potential resilience features and improvements based on model building codes.

The NDRC gathering itself is part of the solution.

A resilient home requires many decisions, made by many people.

Researchers establish what works. Engineers and architects translate evidence into design. Manufacturers supply solutions. Builders and skilled trades install them. Public officials establish and uphold protections. Insurers, lenders, and real estate professionals help shape how homes are financed, insured, understood, and valued. Communicators help people recognize the benefits and know what to do next.

Nonprofits, philanthropies, volunteers, and recovery organizations help bring those opportunities to families who might otherwise be left behind.

NDRC brings that community into the same room.

The challenge before us is substantial: deliver homes that protect families while addressing durability, energy efficiency, affordability, and insurability over time. Meeting it will take everyone and every profession that touches housing.

It takes curiosity, evidence, and the willingness to build something together.

We have seen what can grow from this gathering. This year, we will create the conditions for the next breakthrough.

That is why I hope you will join us to connect, engage, learn, share, and imagine. Bring your expertise, your questions, and your most ambitious ideas.

Join us at NDRC26 November 17–19 at the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach, because the next idea that helps a family live more safely may begin with you.

December 16, 2025

National Disaster Resilience Conference Welcome Keynote Address

Below is a transcript of the Welcome Keynote Address by Leslie Chapman-Henderson, President and CEO of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), delivered on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at the National Disaster Resilience Conference (NDRC) in Clearwater Beach, Florida

Welcome everyone. We are honored to host you here and bring everyone together—architects, builders, developers, economists, engineers, emergency managers, insurers, journalists, manufacturers, meteorologists, professors, researchers, risk communicators, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, product innovators, students, technology experts, volunteers, and survivors.

We gather here every year because we share one belief:

A disaster should never be the moment a family learns whether their home was strong enough. “Building the DREAM” — homes and communities that are Durable, Resilient, Energy Efficient, Affordable, and Modern. Today and tomorrow, we’re not here just to talk about what fell or failed. We are here to define what will stand, survive, and succeed.

And that brings us to this year’s theme, a concept that we articulated here at NDRC, and that we are celebrating because we see it emerging around the country, including an award-winning community just south of us here that you’ll hear about at lunch today.

Not in the future. Not for the lucky few. But now, and for everyone.

WHY THE DREAM MATTERS TODAY

We are living in a time when disasters are no longer “rare events.”

(The tally of injuries, lives lost, and billion-dollar disasters reflect this profoundly)

Whether it’s wildfire in places that never burned before…
Tornadoes that break out past the “season” …
Or hurricanes that arrive stronger, faster, and costlier than anything in recorded history…

The pattern has changed — but most of our homes have not. All too often, we still rebuild the same way, in the same place, to the same minimum standards.

Meanwhile:

  • Insurance markets are stressed.
  • Construction costs skyrocket.
  • And families are left to recover emotionally as they grapple to rebuild financially.

Millions of Americans are still living in housing that is one storm, one spark, one surge, or one freeze away from catastrophe. So the question is not, “Can we keep doing this?” It’s, “Why would we?

DEFINING THE D.R.E.A.M.

Let’s break down what a DREAM home really means.

D – Durable

A home built not just to pass inspection on closing day — but to reliably deliver safety and low-maintenance performance over decades. It meets the “no surprises” standard.

R – Resilient

A home matched to its most likely hazards. A house in Florida that won’t float away in a flood or fail in 120-mph winds. A house in Oklahoma that won’t slide off its foundation in a tornado. A house in California that doesn’t ignite from airborne embers a football field away.

Resilience is not abstract. It’s measurable. It’s certifiable. It’s buildable.

It’s anchored connections and stronger garage doors. Flood-smart foundations and ember-resistant vents. It’s above-ground tornado safe rooms that withstand winds of up to 250 mph, and sealed roof decks that prevent nine bathtubs of water per minute of wind-driven water from entering the attic after the wind blows away the shingles.

It’s CEA’s Bolt and Brace, IBHS’ FORTIFIED and Wildfire Prepared, and our own EarthquakeStrong, HurricaneStrong, and TornadoStrong.

Fundamentally, resilient building means following building science, not just building tradition.

E – Energy Efficient

With decades of work completed, this goal is within reach. And that’s important because a strong home should also be an efficient home. Comfort and cost don’t have to be separate conversations.

And because a resilient home that’s also energy efficient doesn’t just survive the storm — it survives the utility bill.

A – Affordable

I want to emphasize affordability, as this is the concern that most often slows our progress:

So let’s rethink it because there is a compelling case to be made that the DREAM home is THE most affordable home. How? Why?

Because it’s the home that lasts over time (durable), saves money every day (energy efficient), delivers safety and stands up to disasters (resilient), and retains its value as a family’s most significant financial investment.

And let’s not forget insurance.

  1. On the individual level – It not only saves the homeowner money over the lifetime of homeownership through avoided losses and insurance deductibles they don’t have to pay.
  2. On the community level – it keeps insurance available and affordable by creating predictive, reliable building performance that fosters a stable and healthy insurance marketplace. As we know, a healthy insurance marketplace is essential as it underpins some of the most significant components of our economy – construction, housing, and real estate.

That is why affordability is not only NOT in conflict with resilience. It is what makes resilience universal.

M – Modern

The DREAM home is not a bunker. It is attractive. It is functional, and it’s built with innovative materials, technology, and design that reflect today’s opportunities and tomorrow’s norms. It ensures that we are constantly improving, embracing technology like accommodating our future kitchen robots. It works for us as we age, as we confront special needs, and as we adapt to our environment.

A modern home demonstrates that strength, style, and resilience are not mutually exclusive concepts, as they don’t cancel each other out. The modern home merges all the DREAM values together.

The bottom line:

A home can be strong and beautiful.
A home can be efficient and affordable.
A home can be modern and built to last.

HOW THE FLASH PARTNERSHIP IS MOVING THE DREAM FORWARD

Together, we are advancing the DREAM in many ways. Here are just a few new things this year:

1. Strong Homes Scale
This year, we delivered a new digital tool that helps homeowners answer the question, “How Strong Is My Home?” You can enter your address and compare your home to today’s model codes, which are continually honed and improved with insights from both everyday and catastrophic disasters. You’ll see the list of upgrades that would help mitigate home damage outcomes for six different perils, a disaster history for your home’s location, and your risk ranking from FEMA National Risk Index.

We created the scale to increase transparency because we know that consumer knowledge can catalyze marketplace change and innovation faster than policy alone.

2. Strong Homes Initiative
We have continued and are growing our collaboration with nonprofit volunteer rebuilding organizations, including MDS, UMCOR, and now the Fuller Center. We join forces in the field to deliver and demonstrate resilience opportunities after disasters by upgrading recovery builds.

This initiative:

  1. Ensures disaster survivors don’t return to a house that is equally fragile as the one they just lost, and,
  2. Creates alliances with the stakeholders who are essential to resilience success – builders, contractors, code officials, elected officials, planners, and more.

The most common feedback we hear once our Strong Homes projects are complete is, “This isn’t that different or difficult.” And, nearly every time, our new allies adopt the enhanced practices and forever change the way they build in the future.

3. Wildfire Strong – No Fuel. No Fire.

This last example is on the horizon. This year, we have created a new component to the “Strongs” series. Soon, in addition to Earthquake, Hurricane, and Tornado Strong, you’ll have a novel set of multi-media and digital tools to help raise awareness about wildfire solutions and to bring people to your communities’ mitigation programs BEFORE the fires strike.

WHAT THE DREAM LOOKS LIKE WHEN IT IS TESTED

Hurricane Francine

To paint this picture, let me go back to where we began — with a family, in this case, it’s actually 52 families.

52 families in 52 homes in Dulac, Louisiana whose homes were destroyed by CAT 4 Hurricane Ida in 2021.

Their homes were rebuilt by volunteers and partners through the Strong Homes initiative. Same neighborhood. Same footprint. But this time, the roofs are anchored, the walls are braced, the windows are protected, and the homes are elevated well above expected flood levels. And as with all Strong Homes in our program, every home earned the IBHS FORTIFIED Gold Hurricane Designation.

So when CAT 2 Hurricane Francine hit in 2024, not just with wind but with water, the families and their homes were safe. Zero damage. This experience broke a cycle of Build-Destroy-Rebuild that these 4th, 5th, and 6th generation families have endured for decades.

That is the DREAM.

CALL TO ACTION

What is our call to action? What can guide us forward?

Historically, before technology, sailors navigated by following Polaris—the North Star—because it remains fixed in the night sky. Metaphorically, a “north star” is that steady reference point that keeps us on course.

Our movement’s north star is simple. When we join forces as allies and bring all our expertise together, as we will over the next two days, having a DREAM home won’t be just an opportunity for some, but instead a new normal for everyone.

We are the first generation with the knowledge to build homes that stand. Together, we can be the last generation to let the opportunity slip away.

Thank you.

December 15, 2017

National Disaster Resilience Conference Recap Report Now Available

NDRC

As communities started recovery in the wake of the unprecedented 2017 disaster losses of an estimated 250 billion dollars, public, private, and government thought leaders came together at the National Disaster Resilience Conference – Science, Policy, and Practice (#NDRC17) in Atlanta to forge a stronger vision for the future.

The conference took place from October 25 to 27, and attendees focused on how to improve science, policy, and practice to enhance life safety and improve building performance in the wake of earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires. Findings from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as the California wildfires and Mexico earthquakes took center stage and provided real time inspiration for the leaders to increase future resilience for all communities.

Here is a link to the program recap, slides, video, and feedback survey.

March 1, 2016

Ideas, Inspiration, and Innovation: Report on the 2016 FLASH Annual Conference

2016 AC Leadership PhotoOrganizing an annual conference every year is a mammoth undertaking for an organization of our size, but it is one of the most important aspects to our work because it delivers such unique value. In our movement, most conferences bring together attendees with a common profession, like engineers, floodplain managers, or meteorologists. Many revolve around a common hazard, like the National Earthquake Conference or the National Hurricane Conference.

But ours is different. Our common thread is our shared mission, “Strengthening homes and safeguarding families from disasters of all kinds.” In today’s language, it’s all about resilience.

So we bring together more than 150 different professions from architects and engineers to futurists and journalists. We focus on all hazards from earthquakes to wildfires. We gain insights from policy leadership and hurricane hunting to risk communication research.

And throughout, we are inspired. We share the dedication of our building code allies as we fight to advance the quality of structures across the U.S., and now the globe. We celebrate product innovation that delivers durable buildings, affordably.

And after 18 years of nearly annual gatherings, the Conference is still our most essential event as it energizes us all. We come together, celebrate our progress, overcome challenges, and remember that we have accomplished a great deal already. This gathering was the incubator for the once crazy notion/now award-winning Disney edu-tainment collaboration, StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes. Many other breakthrough ideas were born here, just this way.

All of this is why one of my favorite duties each year is reviewing the Conference wrap-up report and video reel that we are sending out today. In them, you can feel the excitement and positivity of our speakers, and you can experience the sincerity of the champions who fight for a more resilient world every day.

For my part, I can’t help but marvel at how it has all grown. In the beginning, we simply wanted to get a group around the table. Now, we convene the “Davos” of the resilience movement. And we are truly humbled to do so.

Plans are underway for 2017, and we hope to see you there. In the meantime, enjoy the report and remember the words of Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Yes it is.