Sevan Gerard

Sevan Gerard, MA, EMT-P, NCEE, is Co-Founder and Vice President of the Disaster Health Institute (DHI). Mr. Gerard is dedicated to advancing the convergence of disaster medicine and public health through global partnerships, research, and education. He brings over two decades of leadership experience spanning emergency response, operational resilience, strategic consulting, and innovation in high-stakes environments. Mr. Gerard is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Aviogel SRL, an eco-innovation company developing regenerative wildfire mitigation products. 

In all his roles, he leads business strategy and development, and global  expansion, aligning efforts with ESG principles and emerging sustainability frameworks. His broader business portfolio includes founding and advising start-ups across the disaster tech, public safety, and humanitarian innovation sectors, with a focus on scalable, system-level solutions. He has consulted for governments, non-profits, and research institutions on strategic foresight, and technology integration and innovation. At Paracelsus Medical University (PMU) in Austria, Mr. Gerard spearheaded the launch of Europe’s first Center of Excellence in Paediatric Disaster Medicine, integrating cross-border collaboration, paediatric crises planning, and trauma-informed care. 

He serves as General Secretary of WADEM-Europe, is on the board of Counterterrorism Medicine - Europe (CTM-E), and regularly co-organizes high-level programs with International Organizations and NGOs.

His operational background includes two decades in the Los Angeles Fire Department, international deployments to "hot zones" providing intelligence based risk mitigation, and service as Acting Deputy Commander of DMAT CA-9 under US ASPR.  Sevan has a B.S. in Emergency Medical Care from Loma Linda University, an M.A. in Security Studies from the US Naval Postgraduate School and is pursuing a PhD in medical science at PMU, focusing on quality assurance in disaster health systems through the lens of complexity science and artificial intelligence.