Six members of the HCRI team attended the 2025 Natural Hazards Workshop & Researcher’s Meeting in Broomfield, Colorado (July 13-17th). Across the 3-day workshop and 2-day researcher’s meeting, the HCRI accomplished 4 session presentations, 1 poster presentation, a 5k “Disaster Dash” charity run, and various networking connections over coffee and meals. The HCRI’s impressive display of new research continues to cement our reputation as a leading community resilience research institution.
Through the different HCRI voices, we demonstrated our vision for the future of the natural hazards and disasters field – an unwavering commitment to research that is interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and community-engaged. We found this sentiment echoed by our peers and felt synergy and optimism in the greater research community. Simultaneously, we shared our own lessons-learned and absorbed knowledge from leading scholars around the world. As a team, we left the Natural Hazards Workshop motivated to jump back into our work in Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.
HCRI attendees: Ashley Bosa, Brittany Brand, Mitchell Meads, Zachary Provant, Prithila Purkayastha, Sarah Whitaker
Session Presentations:
Ashley Bosa (HCRI postdoctoral research fellow):
Title: Household Response to Evacuation Decision Making and Messaging During Wildland Fire Events
Session: Enhancing Emergency Alert Systems and Warning Response
Brittany Brand (HCRI Director) with Zachary Provant and Prithila Purkayastha:
Title: Building Community Resilience in Rural Idaho: A University-Community Partnership Approach
Session: Cross-Sector Partnerships for Effective Disaster Management
Zachary Provant (HCRI postdoctoral research fellow) with Prithila Purkayastha and Brittany Brand:
Title: Rural Resilience: Key Themes, Gaps in Knowledge, and Future Research Directions
Session: Rural Resilience: Challenges and Opportunities
Sarah Whitaker (HCRI and Department of Anthropology postdoctoral research fellow) with John Ziker (Department of Anthropology)
Title: Cross-jurisdictional Collaboration Among Civil and Military Organizations in Areas Prone to Flooding
Session: Cross-Sector Partnerships for Effective Disaster Management
Poster Presentations:
Sarah Whitaker (HCRI and Department of Anthropology postdoctoral research fellow) with John Ziker (Department of Anthropology)
Title: Preparing Interconnected Civil and Military Infrastructure for Extreme Flooding