Jessica Jensen

Jessica Jensen is an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Management at North Dakota State University (NDSU). Jensen holds a PhD in emergency management, a master's of science in emergency management, and a bachelor's in political science. Jensen believes that her doctoral degree was certification that she is fit to study emergency management, not that she knew everything about it. And study it she does—it’s her passion. Jensen studies a range of topics central to the practice of emergency management (e.g., response effectiveness, National Incident Management System/Incident Command System, individual and household recovery, nonprofit participation in recovery) by examining relevant scholarship, collecting data through work with practitioners in the field, and exploring policy.

Jensen is committed to seeing that the research she does, and the research of others, is meaningful to practitioners and can be applied in the field. She works toward this goal by educating students at NDSU, serving as a board member in the Cass Clay National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, serving as a pro bono research consultant for the International Association of Emergency Managers, serving on national workgroups, facilitating national working groups for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) higher education program, publishing her work in journals, and sharing the findings of her work at professional and academic conferences.