Ann Lesperance has been with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 1990. In her current capacity, Lesperance is the director of the Northwest Regional Technology Center in Seattle, Washington.
Her primary focus is developing regional programs to accelerate the demonstration and deployment of new Homeland Security technologies. To accomplish this, Lesperance works with state and local emergency responders and public safety officials to understand and help prioritize their operational needs and requirements. She also builds regional coalitions of emergency management professionals to partner with Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate, the Department of Defense, federal agencies, and manages program implementation in the field.
Lesperance has a joint appointment to Northeastern University – Seattle and leads efforts to build the master’s program in Security and Resilience Studies and Urban Informatics. She also was awarded a Faculty Affiliate appointment with Northeastern’s Global Resilience Institute. In this role, she partners with the institute to identify and participate in interdisciplinary proposal efforts for new research and education collaborations.
Lesperance has over 30 years of experience as a researcher and project manager in domestic and international fields, including environmental and public health analysis, and disaster management and recovery from natural and man-made events. She is a recognized leader in response, recovery, and resiliency issues. She was selected to serve on a National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine Steering Committee exploring a "whole of government" approach to international chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear events. In addition, she served on National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Resilient American Roundtable, overseeing the work of the Program on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events. In 2021, she was appointed to the Committee on Applied Research Topics for Hazard Mitigation and Resilience and, in 2022, to the Domestic Preparedness editorial advisory committee.
Lesperance received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science and Latin American Studies from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Science in the Environmental Science and Engineering Program from the University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health.