Jocelyn West

Jocelyn West is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder and a graduate research assistant at the Natural Hazards Center. Her research interests include disaster risk communication and social vulnerability to natural hazards. Her dissertation research focuses on the social side of landslides in Puerto Rico, centering on rural community experiences with cumulative disaster exposure. 

Previously supported by the Public Health Disaster Research Award Program and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, West led interdisciplinary team research about population exposure and the public health implications of landslides in Puerto Rico. She also collaborated on the development of the novel LandslideReady community preparedness program led by the Puerto Rico Landslide Hazard Mitigation Office. At the Center, West coordinated a multi-year collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez that produced the Landslide Guide for Residents of Puerto Rico. She also co-developed a CONVERGE Training Module about Reciprocity in Hazards and Disaster Research.

West's professional experience spans disaster management and geological science, focusing on risk communication and resilience. She previously worked as a research social scientist at the USGS, analyzed risk communication at the World Bank, and conducted earthquake research in Nepal. She served on the responses to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina (2024) and Hurricane Harvey in Texas (2017). West has worked internationally in Singapore, Indonesia, Dominica, and Peru. West holds a Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a bachelor's degree in geological science and education policy from Brown University.