Committees
The Education Committee
Chair:
Heather Simmons, PhD, ABCP
Co-Chair:
Sierra Minnich, ABCP
Members:
Christian Brown, CBCP, CRMP
Martin Gonzalez, MBCP
Philip Grieser, MBCP CISSP CISM CISA
Purple Kumai, MBCP, ACRP
Dan Lipps, MBCP, CPSCP
Sabeen Shamsi, MBCP
Click here to learn more about the Education Committee members.
The Education Committee plays a key role in ensuring that DRI’s courses remain accurate, current, and engaging. The committee is responsible for reviewing and updating training materials so that they reflect industry best practices, align with DRI standards, and incorporate relevant examples and case studies. In addition to supporting course content, the committee promotes DRI courses, shares professional insights, and incorporates emerging topics to strengthen DRI’s visibility and reach. Through this combined focus, the committee helps maintain the high quality of DRI’s educational programs while expanding its impact within the global resilience community.
Heather Simmons, PhD, ABCP
Chair
Biography
Heather Simmons is a Risk Manager and AI Governance & Compliance Leader within Teleion’s Security, Risk & Compliance Practice, where she also supports a range of business continuity initiatives. She joined Teleion in February 2022, beginning her tenure as a technical policy writer and editor for Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI. In her current role, Simmons supports Microsoft's SRC by identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks and supporting business continuity program elements to ensure the continuity of global supply chain operations.
A key contributor to the development of Teleion’s AI Governance and Compliance practice, Simmons recently led the creation of a comprehensive AI Governance Policy for a late-stage private SaaS company. She also designed and delivered an online course on AI Governance Policy writing, helping bridge the gap between policy development and implementation.
Before joining Teleion, Simmons worked in Environmental Health and Safety at Iowa State University. There, she collaborated with Risk Management, Legal, and Human Resources to lead the university’s incident investigation and prevention program. She was instrumental in designing and implementing the university’s incident portal, including data collection, analysis, and reporting functionality. Over a span of seven years, Simmons developed and delivered multiple safety trainings—two online, three in-person, and one hybrid—and provided monthly safety instruction to students, faculty, and staff. Previous to this role Simmons was a DNA laboratory manager where she managed multiple PhD, masters and undergraduate students and their associated projects.
Simmons brings deep academic and instructional experience to her work. She has served as a teaching assistant or lab instructor for eight college-level courses and as a guest lecturer for four. Her original research has been presented at numerous conferences and scholarly events.
She is a Certified AI Governance Professional, Certified Safety Professional, and Associate Business Continuity Professional. She holds a PhD in Biology from Penn State and a master’s degree in finance from Iowa State University.