Award Winners
Disability and Disasters Award
The Disability and Disasters Award supports people with disabilities working in disasters, as well as those who care for, study, or advocate on behalf of those with disabilities. Award funds will allow the recipient to attend the annual Natural Hazards Workshop and the Researchers or Practitioners Meetings that follow. The 2024 winners are:
Elizabeth Davis
Elizabeth Davis is an emergency management consultant focusing on inclusive emergency management, marginalized population planning, disaster human services, and related issues through her firm EAD & Associates, LLC which employs a holistic, client-focused approach to providing quality services and real-world solutions.
An accomplished public speaker, Davis is considered one of the nation’s "go-to" sources regarding the convergence of emergency management and Disability Access and Functional Needs (DAFN). She began public service with the New York City's Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities as assistant to counsel and senior policy advisor. She later became the first director of the National Organization on Disability’s Emergency Preparedness Initiative. Davis is an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sits on many research review boards and serves on several national advisory boards, including as an appointed voting member of the National Advisory Committee on Disability and Disaster to the Secretary of Health and Human Services; chair of the National Hurricane Conference Accessibility and Heath Care Topic Committee; first chair of the International Association of Emergency Managers Accessibility Committee. Over the years, she has received many awards and honors for her work. Davis is an inaugural inductee into the International Women in Homeland Security & Emergency Management Hall of Fame.
Davis received her juris doctorate and masters of education from Boston University, with a degree in the socio-bicultural study of deafness and American Sign Language. She holds an undergraduate degree with a major in sociology and a minor in political science from Barnard College at Columbia University.
Annika Doneghy
Annika Doneghy is a dual degree student at Case Western Reserve University. She is working towards a PhD in medical anthropology and an MPH concentrated in health policy and management. Her research uses an ethnographic approach to uncover firsthand narratives and experiences of individuals with disabilities and other health conditions as they navigate ongoing cycles of disaster and recovery. Her research reconceptualizes disability and recovery to consider wide-ranging human ability and diversity in disaster contexts, showing that many people with disabilities and other health conditions have different definitions and perspectives of recovery when compared to governmental and non-governmental organizations. She aims to illustrate how traditional disaster practice and policy often fail to recognize these diverse and challenging experiences due to lack of inclusion and disability expertise. Doneghy received a Master of Arts from the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University.
To see a list of all previous winners, please click here: Disability and Disasters Award Winners
Student Paper Competition
The Natural Hazards Center created the Annual Hazards and Disasters Student Paper Competition for undergraduate and graduate students in 2004 as a way to recognize and promote the next generation of hazards and disaster researchers. The 2024 winners are:
Undergraduate Winner
Gabriella Bellows is a May 2024 graduate of Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts in Homeland Security and a minor in Political Science. She has been recognized for her academic achievements with prestigious honors, including the Tulane Leadership Award. Bellows has already garnered significant experience in the field, notably through her internship at Guidehouse. There, she played a key role in stakeholder engagement for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, demonstrating her ability to navigate complex communication networks and enhance emergency response mechanisms. Her hands-on experience extends to her time with JetBlue Airlines, where she contributed to emergency response initiatives, showcasing her skills in operational planning and crisis management. As Bellows steps into her professional career, she joins the incoming class of consultants at Guidehouse, ready to apply her expertise to support FEMA projects. Her future aspirations include pursuing a master's degree in Disaster Risk Management, with a focus on advancing her knowledge in human-climate interactions and community resilience, underlining her commitment to making a significant impact in the field of emergency preparedness and disaster response.
Perceptions and Realities
Graduate Winner
Gardiner Brown is a doctoral student in the University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. He also holds a master’s in Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah. His research lies at the intersections of critical disaster studies and critical disability studies, and he’s especially compelled by research projects that allow him to apply his experience as both a social scientist and a humanities scholar. His scholarly writing has previously been published in Edge Effects, and his personal essays have appeared in Blue Mesa Review and Burrow Press Review.
Vulnerable Populations/Responsible Individuals: Disability and Hurricane Harvey
Learn more about the competition and view previous winning papers on the Student Paper Competition page.
Mary Fran Myers Scholarship Winner
The Mary Fran Myers Scholarship recognizes outstanding individuals who share Myers' commitment to disaster research and practice and have the potential to make a lasting contribution to reducing disaster vulnerability. The 2024 winner is:
Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola
Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola is a Visiting Scientist at the United Nations University-Institute for Environment and Human Security in Bonn, Germany. He developed a keen interest in disaster research following his firsthand experience with extreme flood events in Nigeria in 2011.
After receiving prestigious scholarships such as the Alexander von Humboldt and DAAD Climate Change Research in Africa, Olasunkanmi came to Germany to advance his research on climate change adaptation and community resilience to cascading flood risks in cities across the global South and North.
Currently, his research focuses on understanding the recovery pathways and resilient rebuilding processes of communities affected by extreme climate events in Germany and Nigeria.
With over 10 years of experience in the private and public sectors, Olasunkanmi is an expert in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. His previous work involved developing and implementing comprehensive disaster management plans, conducting risk assessments, designing resilience-building initiatives, and providing capacity-building training on disaster preparedness, response, and inclusive education in informal settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Olasunkanmi holds a doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. His doctoral research focused on effective strategies for disaster risk reduction and their implementation in urban areas.
Read more about the 2024 winners as well as past scholarship recipients on the Mary Fran Myers Scholarship Winners page.
