Lori Hodges began her career as a firefighter and a paramedic and later worked at both the local and state levels in emergency management. She holds a bachelor's degree in emergency management and planning, a master's degree in security studies, a master's degree in political science and public policy, and is completing a PhD in business strategy and innovation. Lori has published multiple articles in industry journals and magazines on emergency management, leadership, chaos theory, and lessons learned from disaster. She is also the author of the historical fiction novel Sweet Twisted Pine, an award finalist in Western fiction.