William Averette Anderson Fund for Hazard and Disaster Mitigation Education and Research

“We build a better world by prioritizing justice, public safety, peace, and the needs of vulnerable populations at all times." Bill Anderson Fund Fellow Amidu Kalokoh. MSc., MIS, ABD conducts research that aims to advance public policy and administration, intersecting homeland security, emergency management, and criminal justice. His dissertation examines natural hazard preparedness for correctional facilities to ensure the safety and welfare of correctional officers, inmates, and the public in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Amidu is a fourth-year Public Policy and Administration doctoral candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University and an accomplished rising scholar. Read his entire feature on our website! https://lnkd.in/g-tj9QxD

Our Featured Fellow for October 2024 is Joshua M.. Joshua is a fifth-year PhD student in civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University. His dissertation research aims to improve community-level natural hazard preparedness by creating tools and materials that improve the efficacy of risk education interventions: “Ideally, I see myself developing into someone who can translate technical knowledge into actionable recommendations for the everyday person that is concerned with the risks in their environment. I specifically consider how the climate and natural hazards risk propagate through our built environment and how we can build resilience at the household and community levels to make sure everyone is as prepared as they can be. Ultimately, my guiding questions regarding risk management and resilience-building are ‘What do we need to know’ and ‘What do we know we need?’ Then, I can hopefully work to develop resources to address these questions for the communities I work with.” Read his entire feature on our website! 

“Heat is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for many locations globally. It is imperative to understand how and why certain populations and locations are most susceptible.” joseph karanja, our Featured Fellow for September 2024, can tell you a thing or two about factors that affect heat health outcomes and how to identify those most affected. Joseph is a PhD candidate in Geographic Information Science at Arizona State University in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. Read all about his work in our newest blog post!

Our Featured Fellow for July 2024 is Alexa Riobueno-Naylor, MA (she/her). Alexa is a fifth-year PhD candidate in counseling psychology in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology at Boston College. Alexa’s dissertation involves a rigorous evaluation of the impact of multiple disaster exposures on youth mental health. Of her professional endeavors, she says: “As a researcher and clinician, my work focuses on understanding and addressing the complex challenges faced by marginalized populations affected by disasters and other traumatic stressors. My goal is to create more equitable support systems for youth and families who have been historically underserved by the field of psychology.” Alexa’s research interests include cumulative disaster exposure, youth mental health, trauma, depression, suicidality, social determinants of health, advanced quantitative analysis. Read her entire feature on our website!  

This event will provide an excellent opportunity for young advocates to learn in community with others who are passionate about climate justice. Sign up today!

Our Featured Fellow for June 2024 is Dr. Wendell Grinton, Jr.., who successfully defended his dissertation in April and recently received a doctoral degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering as well as a graduate certificate in Disaster Resilience and Risk Management from Virginia Tech. His doctoral research focuses on ways to improve the communication of civil infrastructure messages to the public. Dr. Grinton, Jr.’s research employs interdisciplinary approaches to tackle the vexing issues of accessibility and message framing in policy, traffic safety, and emergency response. He analyzed energy policy from 1978-2022 and measured the accessibility of each policy to identify ways in which federal agencies can optimize best practices to communicate the main points of energy policy. Additionally, he analyzed the cognitive data of Virginia drivers’ perceptions of non-traditional traffic safety messages to identify potential messages that can be impactful in influencing safer driving behaviors. Click the link below to learn more about his work and next steps for his career! https://lnkd.in/g-rY4KUV

In their new analysis through a Bill Anderson Fund partnership with Headwaters Economics, BAF Fellows Tiffany Cousins and joseph karanja examine how local capacity aligns with the CEJST and CDRZ federal climate vulnerability maps. These federal maps are guiding billions in climate investments to at-risk and in-need communities, but it is important to consider whether they're identifying places where local governments face capacity barriers. Learn more about what their analysis found in this blog post. https://lnkd.in/gSEErjgB

Join us on July 26, 2024, for a special event dedicated to climate justice advocacy and activism! In partnership with Mockingbird Analytics, Youth on Root, and UCI C.L.I.M.A.T.E. Justice Initiative, we're excited to host a day of education and empowerment for youth, activists, and organizations committed to environmental change. Learn how to design impactful campaigns, navigate legalities, and amplify your voice for a greener, more just future. If you are a youth climate justice organizer, activist, or leader working on youth or environment-related causes, we would love to have you participate in this FREE event. 🗓️ Date: July 26, 2024 ⏰ Time: 10 AM to 4 PM (Pacific Time) 📍 Location: University of California - Irvine 🎟️ Registration is FREE! Don't miss out on this opportunity to make a difference! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gyT8JimF #ClimateJustice#EnvironmentalActivism#YouthEmpowerment

The Bill Anderson Fund was founded to support its Fellows through challenges that threaten their personal wellbeing and progress toward their doctoral degrees. BAF Fellow Carlo Chunga Pizarro, a first-generation Ph.D. student at the University of California Irvine, is facing one such upheaval. Carlo and his family’s lives have been upended by the illness of his father Jorge, who has been hospitalized in critical care since March 2024 due to a severe lung infection. They’ve launched a GoFundMe page to alleviate the overwhelming financial burden associated with the resulting medical expenses. We’re sharing their request to help activate the broader BAF community. If you’re able, please help by donating to their page or amplifying this message. Thank you for helping us support this amazing young scholar during a difficult time.  

Our featured Fellow for May 2024 is Dr. Jennifer Blanks, who will be graduating this month with a Ph.D. in urban and regional science from Texas A&M University. Dr. Blanks’s dissertation contributes to literature that offers best practices for African American participatory preservation methods, theories, and approaches to provide perpetual care for historic ancestral and burial grounds. Her research emphasizes the importance of critical cultural resources that are at risk of being destroyed, displaced, and damaged. Dr. Blanks’s research interests include hazards and disaster management, preservation planning, and Black geographies. Read her feature on our website!