Many thanks to all EERI members who took the time to consider and choose from the exceptional candidates for the 2026 EERI Board of Directors.
EERI would like to welcome our new President-Elect and two new Directors:
President-Elect:
Scott Ashford (M. EERI, 1992)
Professor of Geotechnical Engineering and former Dean of the College of Engineering, Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
Scott A. Ashford, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is a Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Oregon State University (OSU). He just completed 12 years as Dean of the College of Engineering, where led the college to significant growth in research, enrollment, and national influence. A recognized leader in earthquake engineering and higher education, he is known for bringing people together around a shared vision, and then collectively implementing that vision.
Dr. Ashford earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from OSU in 1983 and began his career at CH2M HILL in the San Francisco Bay Area. He later completed his M.S. and Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is an international expert in blast-induced liquefaction, soil-structure interaction and slope stability. He is the author or co-author of over 60 refereed publications and has participated in over a dozen post-earthquake investigations, several on behalf of EERI.
After time in private industry, as well as academic appointments at the Asian Institute of Technology and the University of California, San Diego, he joined OSU in 2007 as Head of the School of Civil and Construction Engineering and was named Dean of the College Engineering in 2014. Under his leadership, the college graduated 24,000 engineers into the workforce, tripled research expenditures, and raised nearly $400M through philanthropy. He prioritized a sense of belonging in the college community, significantly increasing underrepresented groups within the student body and faculty.
Beyond academia, Dr. Ashford has influenced public policy. Most recently, he completed eight years on the governing board of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries DOGAMI), including two years as board chair. He chaired the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program for the Oregon Transportation Commission and the Taskforce on Implementation of the Oregon Resilience Plan, both on behalf of the governor. He has often testified before the state and federal legislatures.
Dr. Ashford’s professional recognition includes being named a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and receiving the ASCE Oregon Section’s Government Engineer of the Year Award in 2023. He has also been honored for his efforts to promote diversity in the engineering profession by the Society of Women Engineers and the Associated General Contractors.
Dr. Ashford’s first experience with EERI was in 1991, attending the Fourth International Conference on Seismic Zonation held at Stanford University. He has been involved ever since, as a member for over 30 years and serving on the EERI Board of Directors from 2012 through 2016. He co-chaired 10th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (NCEE) in Anchorage and is currently co-chair of the 13th NCEE to be held in Portland in 2026.
Director A:
Henry Burton (M. EERI, 2011)
Associate Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Dr. Henry V. Burton is an Associate Professor and the Presidential Chair in Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research areas include performance-based earthquake engineering, nonlinear structural analysis, and urban seismic resilience. Dr. Burton is a registered structural engineer in the state of California. Prior to obtaining his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, he spent six years in practice at Degenkolb Engineers, where he worked on numerous projects involving design of new buildings and seismic evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings. He is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Next Generation of Disaster Researchers Fellowship (2014), the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2016), and the Structural Engineering Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) S.B. Barnes Research Award (2024).
Dr. Burton has been an active member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) for over 15 years. During his time at Stanford University, he served as President of the EERI Student Chapter, fostering engagement between students and the broader earthquake engineering community. As a faculty member at UCLA, his research group has regularly contributed to EERI Annual Meetings and National Conferences, with numerous student presentations advancing knowledge and practice in earthquake engineering. He served as a member of the local organizing committee for the 11th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (11NCEE) in Los Angeles, California, and he is currently serving as Co-Chair of the Technical Committee for the 13th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (13NCEE), which will be held in Portland, Oregon. Through these roles, Dr. Burton has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to advancing EERI’s mission of reducing earthquake risk and enhancing resilience through research, education, and practice.
Director B:
Emel Seyhan (M. EERI, 2010)
Director, Analytics & Modeling, Moody’s RMS
Newark, California
Emel Seyhan is a Director in the Analytics & Modeling Department at Moody’s (formerly RMS), where she leads the Earthquake Ground Motion and Site Response Modeling Team based in Newark, California. Over the past decade, she has developed catastrophe hazard and risk model projects across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania—transforming how seismic risk is quantified and managed in the global reinsurance and brokerage sectors. Her strategic leadership has helped shape Moody’s global risk assessment capabilities.
Emel holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UCLA and is widely recognized for her contributions to the NGA-West 2 ground motion and site response models. She has authored over ten journal publications (2013–2024), served on the Seismic Design Competition Committee (2010-2012), taught as part-time faculty at California State University, Long Beach (2020-2022) and recently retired from the EERI Northern California Chapter Board of Directors. She is an active member of the USGS and New Zealand NSHM GMCM Technical Advisory Group. She remains involved in research beyond her professional role, including contributions to the NGA-West 3. Outside of work, Emel enjoys hiking, bird watching, and spending quality time with her two-year-old daughter and family.
Scott, Henry, and Emel will assume their new posts at the first Board of Directors meeting in 2026.
The Institute extends appreciation to outgoing board members, Past President Janiele Maffei (M. EERI, 1997), Vice President Nicholas Gregor (M. EERI, 1997), and Director Zahraa Saiyed (M. EERI, 2010) for their service and dedication to the institute. EERI’s leadership and staff appreciate the insight and diligence that they brought to the Board during their tenure.
EERI would also like to thank the Election Tellers who were critical in the election process: Kamal Ahmed (M. EERI, 2016), Alexandria Julius (M. EERI, 2013), and Kristin Ulmer (M. EERI, 2013).
