ARNOLD, Mo. – As part of our recent conference activities, two new members were elected to the Disaster Recovery Journal Editorial Advisory Board.
Vaishali Jain, of ServiceNow, and Katherine Whitaker, of Nestlé North America, were both elected to the EAB at a virtual meeting prior to DRJ Fall 2021. New members are elected by the current board members to a two-year term.
Jain is a senior manager of business continuity management at ServiceNow. She holds a Master of Science degree in management information systems from SUNY-Buffalo and a CBCP certification. Jain lives in San Francisco and is part of the Business Recovery Managers Association in the Bay area.
Whitaker is head of business continuity and resilience Nestlé North America, with 13 years of experience at the company. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a graduate diploma in education from La Trobe University. She is MBCI certified with similar credentials from ICMC and FEMA. Whitaker lives in Arlington, Va., and is also a member of the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) USA Chapter Board.
After a first term, members are eligible to run for a second, two-year term before rolling off the EAB for at least two years. Joe Layman, of Bright Horizons, and independent consultant Martin Myers were elected to a second term on the board.
Outgoing EAB Chairperson Paul Striedl, of Stifel Financial Corporation, was the only member to roll off the board in September.
“I want to thank Paul for all of his hard work as chairperson,” said DRJ Editor Jon Seals. “Almost every meeting during his tenure was held virtually, so his experience was quite different than those who previously held the position. We appreciate everything he has done for DRJ.”
Matt Ziska, an environmental health and safety director, will helm the board in 2022.
“I am honored to have been elected chair of the EAB,” said Ziska. “I am excited to serve the DRJ and EAB to continue to provide beneficial support of the DRJ’s direction and the business continuity professional community.”
As chairperson of the EAB, Ziska is now a de facto member of all four current DRJ committees. He will have a lot of company, with several resilience professionals from inside and outside the board joining DRJ committee endeavors.
With ties to the DRJ Mentor Program and a popular session at recent DRJ conferences, the career development committee has plenty of new members to announce. Recent nominees Jain and Whitaker were already part of the committee prior to election. EAB members James Green, David Halford, and Cary Jasgur joined the committee shortly after previous elections. Melissa Owings, Darren Smith, Dianne Miller, Patrick Dunn, Renuka Darbha, Shelly Munoz, Traci O’Neal, Tonya York, and Eric Flick recently joined the committee from outside the board.
EAB member Ray Holloman recently joined the glossary committee while Kim Hirsch joined the rules and regulations committee from outside the board. These committees are responsible for two of the industry’s most valuable resources – the DRJ Glossary of Business Continuity Terms and the DR Rules & Regulations spreadsheet.
Green also joined the EAB membership committee. This committee is responsible for interviewing new candidates for the board. Membership is mandatory for all “alumni” members who return to the board after serving previous terms.
Get Involved with the EAB
We are always looking for individuals from the industry to help guide Disaster Recovery Journal with new ideas and suggestions. Please click on one of the committee links above to discover more about our committees. Send a resume to eab-nominations@drj.com to be considered for a spot on the DRJ Editorial Advisory Board.
Joining a committee prior to an EAB election is not a prerequisite, but it is encouraged. The board is limited to 16 seats. Only two seats will be available in March 2022. Applications must be received before Jan. 15, 2022.
