POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN ECOLOGY
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY – NEW BRUNSWICK

Let’s Talk About… Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Disaster Science, Emergency Management, Energy Security, Environmental Justice, Homeland Security, Humanitarian Affairs

As a disaster scientist with extensive experience in multi-method qualitative analysis, I investigate the decision- and policy-making processes in emergency management. The goal of my research is to strengthening vulnerable coastal communities’ disaster resilience by developing climate change adaptation frameworks and tailoring emergency management plans to local specificities by engaging a variety of stakeholders in the conversation, first including communities, but also politicians and policymakers.

It sounds easy to accomplish on paper but less in the real world, right? That is why my studies always include four key elements: in-the-field data collection, interviews with relevant stakeholders, policy development strategies, and cost-benefit analysis so my policy recommendations can better advocate for themselves.

I am currently affiliated with the Rutgers-led Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH), a collaborative effort of eleven institutions to develop a climate-resilient decision-making framework to support coastal communities in New York City, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. At MACH, I am part of the Human System Dynamics Team and I am co-leading the efforts of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility committee.

My commitment to the disaster science field makes me an active public speaker, with 30+ published policy commentaries. I have expertise in grant writing, project management, and multi-method research involving qualitative, quantitative, and spatial analysis.

I am a lifetime member of the Phi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society, a member of the Disaster and Emergency Research Network, founding member of the Southeast Chapter of the Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America Foundation, and among the researchers and co-founding members of the COVID-19 Working Group for Public Health and Social Sciences Research-Emergency Management and Policy Analysis in a Pandemic.