Sandra Knight

Sandra Knight currently splits her time as a Senior Research Engineer at the Center for Disaster Resilience at the University of Maryland, and as the President of WaterWonks LLC.  Capitalizing on her extensive experience as a senior leader at the US Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, she now works with her academic partners and clients providing expertise in national policy, strategic planning and technical matters in the areas of disaster resilience, hydraulics, environmental compliance and marine transportation.

As a former Deputy Associate Administrator for Mitigation at FEMA, Sandra was responsible for the nation’s floodplain mapping, management and mitigation grants supporting the National Flood Insurance Program, environmental compliance for the agency, oversight of mitigation disaster cadres and the National Dam Safety Program.

Sandra has a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Memphis, MS from Mississippi State University and a BSCE from Memphis State University. She is a registered professional engineer in Tennessee, a Diplomate Water Resource Engineer and a Diplomate Navigation Engineering. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Meteorological Society, the Society of Women Engineers, Sigma Xi and a Fellow for PIANC.