Ashley Ross

Ashley Ross is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Sciences at Texas A&M University at Galveston. A political scientist by training, her research explores hazard and disaster issues from a sociopolitical perspective. Her book Local Disaster Resilience: Administrative and Political Perspectives (Routledge, 2013) analyzed disaster resilience related to Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill among U.S. Gulf Coast counties. Her recent work has evaluated communities affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, comparing rural-urban capacities for resilience. Much of her research examines public perceptions related to hazard governance, including issues of climate change, hazard mitigation, and pollution. She also has a robust line of research that considers how identity, race and ethnic as well as generational, influences public attitudes towards climate change. Her current research explores how these identities as well as trust in science is associated with disparities in disaster information access, use, and interpretation. Ross is a fellow with the Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas and serves as the coordinator of the Marine Resources Management master’s program. She teaches graduate courses in environmental management, environmental conflict resolution, and research methods in coastal resources.