Biography

A nationally recognized leader in disaster risk and resilience, Dr. Daniel Kaniewski brings over two decades of experience across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. He provides a unique perspective to clients, policymakers, and the media, drawing on his experience as a FEMA Deputy Administrator, Presidential Advisor, and P&C insurance industry executive.

Currently, Dr. Kaniewski is the Founder and CEO of Northstar Risk & Resilience, a strategic advisory firm helping clients navigate the complexities of disaster risk.

He previously served as U.S. Public Sector Leader at Marsh. In that role, he advanced the firm’s priorities across all levels of government and delivered integrated risk management, risk transfer, and advisory solutions for federal, state, and local clients.

From 2017 to 2020, Dr. Kaniewski was the second-ranking official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As the agency’s first Deputy Administrator for Resilience, he launched and led the disaster resilience programs that are now a cornerstone of FEMA’s mission. Concurrently, he served as Chair of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) High-Level Risk Forum, leading risk managers from 36 member nations.

Prior to FEMA, Dr. Kaniewski launched the global resilience practice at a leading catastrophe risk modeling firm, directed resilience programs at a U.S. Department of Homeland Security-sponsored research center, and co-founded a homeland security think tank.

In the George W. Bush Administration, he served as Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Response Policy, managing over 200 Presidential disaster declarations at the White House.

Earlier, he held positions at the Congressional Fire Services Institute and on Capitol Hill. Dr. Kaniewski began his career in homeland security as a firefighter/paramedic.

His current affiliations include serving as a Non-Resident Scholar at the Insurance Information Institute, Chair of the Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate at the National Institute of Building Sciences, a Senior Fellow at the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security, and an advisor to The Resiliency Company and Juvare/WebEOC. He has previously served on the DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council, the DC Homeland Security Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the graduate faculty at Georgetown University and George Washington University.

He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from George Washington University, an M.A. in National Security Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and a B.S. magna cum laude in Emergency Medical Services from George Washington University.