Carol Cwiak, emergency management lecturer, will represent NDSU in a collaborative relationship with the country of Ghana. The North Dakota National Guard, which initiated the potential link between NDSU and Ghana, has assisted with training programs for Ghana’s national equivalent of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

According to Daniel Klenow, chair of sociology, anthropology and emergency management, a natural outcome of this relationship includes the development of possible educational outreach programs. “Carol Cwiak is uniquely qualified to represent NDSU because of her deep understanding and experience with emergency management policies and procedures at the municipal, state and national levels,” Klenow said.

Cwiak’s Feb. 7-14 visit will include an assessment of the potential for an agreement with a Ghana university, as well as meetings with administrators from the country’s emergency management response program. In addition to her knowledge and experience with applied emergency management issues, Cwiak also has been active as a presenter at the International Association of Emergency Manager’s annual conference, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Management Institute Higher Education conference, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security and at the upcoming World Conference on Disaster Management in Toronto.