2026 Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather Conference

Gregg Black

Director of Emergency Management and Fire Safety, George Mason University

Gregg Black joined George Mason University in October of 2010 as an intern with the Environmental Health and Safety Office. Gregg worked with the Emergency Preparedness and Response staff drafting emergency plans for the university. In July of 2011, Gregg was hired on as a full time Compliance Specialist supporting both Fire Safety and the Emergency Preparedness and Response groups within EHS. He serves as the Automatic External Defibrillator Program coordinator for all campuses and has made significant contributions to the emergency evacuation signage, the establishment of fire safety record keeping procedures, and Emergency Preparedness Guides. Previously Gregg served as a manager of the Community Service Officers program, and Assistant Emergency Manager at the California State University, Chico Police Department. Gregg graduated from California State University, Chico with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice in 2010. He is currently seeking a Masters in Public Administration from George Mason University.

Bill Bunting

Acting Director
NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center
Norman, OK

Bill Bunting has been with the National Weather Service for 41 years and is currently the Deputy Director of the NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center. The Storm Prediction Center is responsible for severe thunderstorm and tornado watches and mesoscale convective discussions for the lower 48 states, as well as severe and fire weather outlooks up to one week in the future. Before arriving at the Storm Prediction Center in 2012 he was the Meteorologist-In-Charge of the Dallas/Fort Worth NWS Weather Forecast Office for almost 11 years, where he was responsible for forecasts and warnings for nearly 6 million people in northern and central Texas. Bill also served as the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the Kansas City NWS Weather Forecast Office, and was a forecaster and preparedness focal point at the Norman, OK Weather Forecast Office early in his career. Bill graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Oklahoma majoring in meteorology and psychology. Professional interests include the role of judgment and expertise in weather forecasting and wind storm damage assessment, and he has co-authored peer-reviewed articles on both subjects. He is a member of the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Society. When not at work, Bill's hobbies include outdoor photography and playing the drums.

Capital Weather

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Jeffery Halverson

Severe Weather Expert

Jeff Halverson earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia before joining NASA Goddard as a postdoctoral researcher under Joanne Simpson. He is now a professor at UMBC, where he teaches meteorology, severe storms, natural hazards, and climate change. His research focuses on hurricanes, derechos, and severe weather communication, and he has authored nearly 50 scientific publications while appearing in documentaries for NOVA, National Geographic, and the Discovery Channel.

Ian Livingston

Information Lead & Forecaster

Ian Livingston has forecast weather for the Washington region since 2008 and has reported extensively on weather and climate issues. Formerly of The Washington Post, he is also a writer for the University of Maryland Global Campus and has helped develop several weather-focused websites, including ustornadoes.com. His work blends forecasting, data analysis, photography, and programming to communicate weather in engaging and accessible ways.

Jen Narramore

Tornado Talk

Jennifer Narramore is the Founder, Director, and Lead Researcher of Tornado Talk, a research-based platform dedicated to preserving tornado history and honoring the people impacted by these events. Originally from Beech Grove, Indiana, Jennifer’s interest in weather began in middle school while living in Central Florida, where she tracked hurricanes by hand using grocery-store storm charts. She earned a B.S. in Meteorology from Penn State University in 1995 and has worked as a radio broadcast meteorologist for more than 25 years. She began her career at The Weather Channel and currently works with The Storm Report Radio Network, providing daily forecasts for more than 70 cities across the country. In 2020, Jennifer joined the WeatherBrains podcast as a panelist. Jennifer co-founded Tornado Talk in 2016 as a podcast. After 36 episodes, the podcast ended, but she continued building the brand into an in-depth tornado history website. Today, Tornado Talk combines meteorology, archival research, survivor accounts, and fatality documentation to tell the fuller story of tornado events past and present. Her work also includes the Virtual Tornado Memorial project, an ongoing effort to identify, document, and honor those who lost their lives in U.S. tornadoes. Through this work, Jennifer emphasizes that tornado history is not only about paths, ratings, and damage surveys — it is also about people, communities, survival, recovery, and remembrance.

Jennifer Watson

Emmy Winning Meteorologist, Digital Creator, & Podcast Host

Weather Without Limits: Storm Chasing, Media, AI & Your Future: Jennifer Watson is an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist whose career has spanned local television, national broadcasting, storm chasing, and digital media. She began in local TV, covering the historic 2011 Super Tornado Outbreak, when three EF5 tornadoes devastated communities within her viewing area, and later earned an Emmy for co-producing a severe weather special. Jennifer went on to work nationally with The Weather Channel, appearing on Weather Gone Viral and Weird Earth while covering some of the nation's most significant weather events. In this session, she'll share the many career paths available in meteorology, explore how AI is shaping the future of weather forecasting, and offer practical advice on building a personal brand that creates lasting impact and career success.

Benjamin Woods

Senior Consultant, Mereorology Practice

Mr. Ben Woods holds a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences with an emphasis on Numerical Weather Prediction Models. Woods has a vast and expansive background in both the private and public sectors of meteorology and in both operational and research management positions. Mr. Woods has extensive experience in weather forecasting. He has been employed by The National Weather Service, network TV stations and as an on-site weather consultant for professional and amateur golf tournaments at various locations within the U.S. He has been involved in various aspects of weather safety for close to 4 decades. His broadcast meteorologist is vast and varied. He has forecasted on the national level at The Weather Channel and at local NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox networks. As an experienced public speaker, he has participated in countless taped and live interviews for local, national, and cable television and produced several severe weather safety specials. Woods has also provided training for motivational speakers with Monster.com. . In addition to his forensic consulting work, Mr. Woods is employed as a Communication Manager and Supplemental Program Coordinator with NOAA. He currently manages over $100 million of federally funded weather and water research projects. Mr.Woods has collected and analyzed data for clients involved in weather-related lawsuits and has experience in federal trial proceedings.

Steve Zubrick

Adjunct Professor of Meteorology, George Mason University

Steve is currently an Adjunct Professor of Meteorology at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virgina, and teaches an advanced “Weather Analysis and Prediction” laboratory class. Until retiring in December 2022, he served as the Science and Operations Officer (“SOO”) with the National Weather Service (NWS), Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Sterling, Virginia. As SOO, he was responsible for all training and professional development activities of the office’s team of staff forecasters. He was the coordinator of various programs at the WFO including the Winter, Aviation, and Marine programs and oversaw forecast and warning operations within the Sterling WFO. He has over 25 years operational weather forecasting experience in the NWS. Steve has conducted 100s of storm damage surveys, including tornado surveys throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He received training in conducting tornado damage surveys by Dr. Ted Fujita in 1991. In 2010, he served as president of the 3000 member National Weather Association (NWA). He’s a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and a member Sigma Xi - National Research Society. He graduated from the University of Dayton (Ohio) in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. He graduated from Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) in 1981 with a Master of Science degree in Atmospheric Science.