Simone Balog-Way is a specialist in the field of disaster risk communication, partnership development, and community engagement. Since 2014, she has piloted innovative approaches to risk communication and supported public awareness and behavior change campaigns for the World Bank. She has advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the disaster risk management sector, particularly around early warning systems and disability inclusion. For five years, Simone managed and grew the Understanding Risk (UR) Community, a network of 13,000+ experts and practitioners involved in supporting evidence-informed decisions and policies in disaster and climate risk management, by developing partnerships with non-traditional organizations and utilizing creative community engagement approaches. Simone holds a Master of Science in Risk Analysis and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication.