They鈥檙e already renowned researchers and experts in emergency management. Now, professors and are expanding their impact to the federal level after being hand-selected for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Vanguard Executive Crisis Leaders Fellowship.

The fellowship, housed within FEMA鈥檚 National Disaster and Emergency Management University (NDEMU), brings together top crisis leaders from across the nation to strengthen the future of emergency and crisis management. Emrich was selected for the 11th cohort in New Orleans (May 11-15) and Washington D.C. (June 22-26), and Knox will join the 12th in Washington D.C. (July 20-24) and Houston (Aug. 17-21).

Researchers Sought Out by FEMA

Prior to joining the s Emergency Management and Homeland Security program, Emrich and Knox each worked with FEMA in separate capacities.

Emrich spent years working in the organization, from mapping hurricane impacts in Florida in 2004 to helping rebuild trust in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Knox has worked with FEMA through its Higher Education Program, which she has participated in since 2011, lead focus group initiatives, established an annual award, and aided in training curriculum development.

When assembling these new cohorts, FEMA sought out and hand-selected each of them. Typically, it is rare to include multiple academics in these groups, let alone two from one university in consecutive cohorts.

鈥淭he fact that there’s two of us from 麻豆原创 is a really big deal,鈥� Knox says.

鈥淏y bringing together these multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral leaders, it will help us better prepare for uncertainty in future disasters.鈥� 鈥� Chris Emrich

FEMA formed the program鈥檚 cohort model knowing that the future of disaster response depends not on any single agency or sector but on the strength of connections between them. Each cohort brings together crisis leaders from government, academia, nonprofits and the private sector to build the kind of cross-sectoral networks that are nearly impossible to forge during an actual disaster.

鈥淭his program is part of a more recent attempt to try to engage across sectors more efficiently,鈥� Emrich says. 鈥淏y bringing together these multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral leaders, it will help us better prepare for uncertainty in future disasters.鈥�

Strengthening the Field, Benefiting Students

Emrich and Knox will participate in roundtable seminars, site visits and discussions with fellow experts to examine emerging risks and shifts in the emergency management landscape, explore leadership frameworks for navigating crises, and brainstorm strategies to strengthen the field, all while building this trusted, cross-sector network.

Knox sees the fellowship as a chance to build new partnerships and bring national insights back to 麻豆原创, ultimately benefiting students.

鈥淓mergency management changes constantly,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the luxury of rinse and repeat. This gives us another avenue to bring the latest thinking directly into our courses. I’m looking forward to exploring these issues through both the lens of researcher and the lens of program director.鈥�

Emrich also sees opportunities for expanding research and collaboration by learning where those in the field are currently struggling.

鈥淚鈥檇 love to be a fly on the wall to hear what people’s troubles are,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n academia, we’re fortunate to have the time to think about these things and reflect on how to better support them. Those insights turn into grant proposals, student support and expanding the knowledge base.鈥�

Enhancing 麻豆原创鈥檚 Cutting-Edge Research

The fellowship also aligns with emerging research areas that 麻豆原创 is already exploring when it comes to cutting-edge innovations in crisis management.

For example, Emrich is currently using AI to build educational games that teach students about social vulnerability. What would once have taken years of programming work can now be produced from existing course materials and exercise content 鈥� opening the door to educational tools that weren’t previously feasible.

鈥淲hat AI has been able to produce from my knowledge is something I could not have produced on my own,鈥� Emrich says. 鈥淥ne of the things emergency managers are grappling with now is how to use AI productively. I look forward to being part of the conversation.鈥�

Knox is interested in real-time digital replicas of communities, called 鈥渄igital twins,鈥� that can be used to model disaster scenarios, as well as to test recovery and mitigation plans before they’re needed.

鈥淎 lot of emergency management boots-on-the-ground work is to help make decisions with the incomplete information in a very timely manner,鈥� Knox says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at how AI can complement critical thinking skills with new capabilities. I鈥檝e seen it take off in engineering and computer sciences disciplines using real-time social media data to understand evacuation patterns.鈥�

Beyond their individual research, both professors see the fellowship as a catalyst for something bigger within 麻豆原创 and beyond. They hope it will help them identify new ways to connect expanded emergency management expertise across disciplines.

鈥淢补苍测 faculty members in different departments are doing research that can actively support emergency management,鈥� Emrich says. 鈥淚 think it might be incumbent upon us to come back to the university and say, 鈥楾his is where we need to be. This is how we connect all of our different experts, stakeholders and partners to make our program even stronger.鈥�

As a professor and academic program coordinator, Knox plays a key role in the and is highly regarded in the field, as reflected in the peer-nominated award recognizing her significant impact on the program and its students.

鈥淚 was incredibly honored to receive this award,鈥� Knox says. 鈥淭hese awards mean more to me than other recognitions because they’re from the practitioner community. As a former practitioner, I have such high regard for emergency management professionals and what they go through on a daily basis for their communities. The fact that they see me as not just one of their peers but also as someone they want to partner and collaborate with is extremely humbling.鈥�

Growing up in coastal Louisiana, Knox has long understood the importance of emergency management in communities. This lifelong familiarity fuels her passion for preparing students to enter the professional field and make an immediate impact after graduation.

“Living along the bayou, coastal wetlands are our first line of defense against disasters,鈥� Knox says. 鈥淗aving lived through several hurricanes, I saw communities completely devastated. I learned how government response works, and I also saw community members and organizations rise to the challenge. It drives so much of my passion for designing a program that will help our students go into their communities and make them more resilient.鈥�

鈥淚’m really adamant about providing opportunities for students to sharpen skillsets that they need as they advance in a career.鈥�

Her background as a practitioner in the field was also crucial for informing how she designed her emergency management courses.

鈥淚’m really adamant about providing opportunities for students to sharpen skillsets that they need as they advance in a career,鈥� she says. “This was informed by the experiences I had when I first started working for the federal government. It was assumed that I could write a technical report, facilitate a meeting, speak in front of policymakers and more, so I incorporate many of those experiences into class assignments, so students have a safe space to hone these skills and receive feedback.鈥�

Whenever possible, Knox also provides students with ample opportunities to engage directly with practitioners and community partners 鈥� from local public administrators to panels of emergency management professionals 鈥� while gaining experience presenting and answering questions from real practitioners.

One of Knox鈥檚 favorite classes to teach, she says, is the capstone for the emergency and crisis management master鈥檚 program. In this course, students are paired with mentors from various emergency management agencies in roles they are interested in pursuing after graduation, helping them build professional networks and gain practical experience.

鈥淪tudents share their career goals with me, and I take my time in selecting their mentors, doing the research, searching through my network and making cold calls,” Knox says. 鈥淚 see this as an investment in my students鈥� futures, so I take it very personally.鈥�

Other hands-on experiences include visiting local emergency operations centers for functional and tabletop exercises, working with real-world scenarios, visiting the Orlando Wetlands, attending professional conferences and hearing from real practitioners about the challenges they face in the field.

鈥淸Being] able to invest in and shape the future generation of emergency management practitioners is very rewarding.鈥�

鈥淲e have amazing partners in our local community that allow us to bring students into the field for different types of emergency management exercises and trainings,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t gives them a chance to not only use the equipment, but to be in the space, try out these different roles, and utilize the concepts and ideas that we have discussed in class. For me, it’s all about getting them out of the classroom and into the workspace they鈥檙e going to be in.鈥�

Knox鈥檚 investment in her students and collaboration with working practitioners have not only led to co-authored publications and several teaching awards throughout her career, but have also played a key role in the emergency management program鈥檚 success and national recognition.

鈥淭o be part of a team of amazing faculty, staff, and advisory board members who [are] all on the same page about these types of learning experiences and end goals for our students 鈥� it’s my dream job,鈥� she says. 鈥淸Being] able to invest in and shape the future generation of emergency management practitioners is very rewarding.鈥�

To celebrate the accomplishments of emergency management professionals, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) and the Florida Disaster Foundation recently hosted their inaugural Awards Ceremony Gala, a new component of Florida鈥檚 Training for Emergency Management (FTEM) symposium. Connolly Knox and Valentine were among the professionals recognized for their work in public service.

Connolly Knox, a professor in the College of Community Innovation and Education鈥檚 School of Public Administration, received the Campus Impact Award. This accolade honors emergency management educators, professors, university programs and campus clubs whose accomplishments have improved their community while helping students and early professionals forge their career paths in emergency management or homeland security.

Connolly Knox says she is honored to have received the award and proud to contribute to a field that plays a vital role in community resilience and public service.

鈥淭o be recognized for my contributions to the emergency management discipline and profession with this award by practitioners I hold in high esteem is an honor I do not take lightly,鈥� Connolly Knox says. 鈥淚 have great respect for the profession and those who serve their community. As a former practitioner, I do my best to bridge theory with practice to improve the study and practice of emergency management.鈥�

Connolly Knox鈥檚 contributions to the emergency management field are many. With over 15 years of research, teaching and service, she has created evidence-based learning opportunities for students. She helped build 麻豆原创鈥檚 No. 1 nationally ranked master鈥檚 in emergency and crisis management program while mentoring students and junior faculty. Connolly Knox also built and sustained community partnerships throughout the U.S. and led national initiatives and research teams.

Connolly Knox says some of the most rewarding parts of her work include collaborating with emergency management practitioners to create unique learning opportunities for students, along with mentoring students as they either enter or advance in the field.

鈥淭o see students have that 鈥榓ha鈥� moment when concepts and theories connect with the activity in the emergency operations center still gives me goosebumps,鈥� Connolly Knox says. 鈥淗elping them transition from student to professional is also very rewarding. Whether it鈥檚 landing their dream job across the country, receiving a promotion or completing their professional certification, celebrating their successes never gets old. These are not just my students and alumni 鈥� they are forever my 鈥榢ids.鈥� 鈥�

Valentine 鈥� a mitigation manager for Seminole County Government and a graduate of 麻豆原创鈥檚 bachelor in public administration program who minored in emergency management and homeland security, and leadership studies 鈥� was honored with the Miles Anderson Heart of Mitigation Award. This award recognizes an individual or organization for a notable mitigation achievement in the state of Florida. In emergency management, mitigation actions help to reduce or eliminate the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.

Valentine says she is grateful to be recognized and takes pride in receiving an award named after the late Miles Anderson, the former mitigation bureau chief of the FDEM.

鈥淟ooking at the example Miles set in the field of mitigation, it is an honor to receive an award named after his legacy,鈥� Valentine says. 鈥淚 admire many of my colleagues and aspire to demonstrate the qualities described in the tenets of this award.鈥�

Valentine鈥檚 work encompasses various large- and small-scale projects impacting communities. These include creating backup power and shutter systems for medically enhanced shelters, improving the scoring criteria and tracking systems for local mitigation projects, and working with local and regional partners to accomplish these initiatives.

鈥淧art of my passion relates directly to working at the local government level of emergency management, where I feel the most impact can be made,鈥� Valentine says. 鈥淚 love being able to see the short- and long-term impacts on the community I serve.鈥�

NAPA fellows are tapped to provide insight and experience to address current and emerging issues in government, from overseeing academy projects and lending expertise to providing guidance and contribution to discourse on government.

鈥淭he 2024 class of academy fellows reflects a wide range of professional experience, including dedicated civil servants and accomplished academics,鈥� says Terry Gerton, president and CEO of NAPA. 鈥淭hese 42 leaders will be an enormous asset to the academy in the years ahead, and we look forward to working with all of them to help create a bright future for our country.鈥�

Fellows are selected based on a rigorous review of an individual鈥檚 contributions to the field of public administration and policy. The Fellows Nominating Committee makes its recommendations to nearly 1,000 existing fellows, who then vote on which candidates to induct. Those currently serving in the academy include former cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators, prominent scholars, executives, nonprofit leaders and more. A new cohort of academy fellows is inducted annually during NAPA鈥檚 fall meeting.

Knox is one of only 24 NAPA fellows in Florida 鈥� a distinction she says she finds both rewarding and humbling. As a first-generation college student hailing from coastal Louisiana, Knox says she doesn鈥檛 take any of her educational or research-based accomplishments for granted. Knox, who also serves as the academic program coordinator for 麻豆原创鈥檚 emergency and crisis management master鈥檚 program, is the fifth professor in the to be named a NAPA fellow. Her induction to the academy follows those of in 2015, 聽in 2020, Pegasus Professor聽聽in 2021 and in 2023.

鈥淭o have this amazing honor is extremely humbling, and I could not have done this without the support of friends, family, mentors and colleagues who have guided me on the path that got me to where I am now,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o much of my research and mentorship approach has been focused on lifting up the next generation. … This academy allows us the opportunity to work with the elite of public administration 鈥� from all levels of government and academia 鈥� to tackle wicked problems by pushing for good governance through the study and practice of public administration.鈥�

Knox says that one of the greatest responsibilities that comes with being a fellow is providing recommendations for consideration by federal government.

Grant Hayes, dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Community Innovation and Education, says Knox鈥檚 expertise in emergency management will be a valuable contribution to the NAPA fellowship.

鈥淚 am pleased that Dr. Knox has been invited to join an elite group of academy and industry professionals in public administration, reflecting her dedication to conducting impactful research and informed advocacy,鈥� Hayes says. 鈥淭his strong commitment to engaging in transformative research aligns well with our college鈥檚 central mission of collaborating with community stakeholders to create innovative solutions to complex … issues.鈥�

Resiliency and the use of technology are key in the work being done at 麻豆原创. Here鈥檚 a roundup of some of the many relevant research projects at 麻豆原创 and how they can potentially help residents in Florida and beyond.

Home Vulnerability

Public Administration Associate Professor Chris Emrich, in collaboration with researchers across several universities this year, developed an online tool homeowners can use to check how vulnerable their homes are to natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. A score is generated based on public records about your home as well as scientific data about your geographical location. is free and available to the public now. It includes tips for reducing risks to your property based on the score your home generates.

The Power of Social Media

Claire Connolly Knox, an associate professor and founding director of the Master of Emergency and Crisis Management program, is working on two studies. One focuses on identifying cost-effective, climate-informed green infrastructure adaptations to reduce flood risk in Houston鈥檚 vulnerable and underserved communities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has funded the project. She also recently completed a study looking at how Florida counties used social media as part of their emergency management before, during, and after Hurricane Irma.

For many Florida counties, Hurricane Irma in 2017 was the first time using social media during a disaster. She found that some agencies still don鈥檛 use social media as part of their communication strategy, some rely only on social media and the vast majority are somewhere in between. Rather than just using social media to push out information to communities, Knox and her team have found that some agencies are finding creative ways to gather information from citizens鈥� posts to better deploy help. She found several challenges, but many possibilities for empowering xcitizens and communities to provide critical information that could help better deploy emergency response resources during hurricane emergencies.

Predicting Traffic for Better Evacuations

Engineering Assistant Professor Samiul Hasan is looking for ways to better understand real-time individual, social and agency behavior during evacuations caused by rapidly intensifying hurricanes (RIH).

These kinds of hurricanes quickly intensify making critical infrastructure management and smooth evacuations more challenging. Hasan and the rest of the research team are analyzing the 鈥渄ynamics of risk information processing and decision making to inform the design, development, improvisation, and overall evacuation management for critical transportation infrastructure. The insights from the research are expected to help facilitate safer evacuations and more efficiently organize risk-averting behaviors during RIH,鈥� the researchers say of the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded project that is expected to wrap up in 2023. Hasan also is studying how real-time data from roadway systems and social media can help predict traffic demand during hurricane evacuations. Hasan used data from hurricanes Matthew, and Irma.

Reducing Crashes During Evacuation Rush

Rezaur Rahman 鈥�19MS 鈥�21PhD, a former doctoral student in Hasan鈥檚 lab, also investigated how we might reduce the number of crashes on the roadways during stressful evacuation times. In his study, published last year, he evaluated the safety impact of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems during a hurricane evacuation. The team developed a microscopic simulation model of evacuation traffic and calibrated it using traffic data from an almost 10-mile stretch of I-75 between Ocala and Gainesville, Florida, during Hurricane Irma鈥檚 evacuation period. Rahman鈥檚 model found that by using cruise control crashes could potentially be reduced by almost 50 percent, and travel time improves despite heavy stop-and-go traffic. The SAFER-SIM University Transportation Center, a consortium of 聽various universities including 麻豆原创, supported this study.

Hurricanes and Sea Level Rise

Engineering Assistant Professor Thomas Wahl and his team are working on a new method to determine where extreme events, like 100-year storm floods, are more likely to occur, whether the likelihood of such extremes is changing over time, and why.

These projects are but a snapshot of the research that goes on at 麻豆原创 to help people and communities be better prepared for hurricanes. As the work continues, new findings will be shared with the public, policymakers, and emergency managers to help ensure we stay resilient during hurricane season.