Tiffany Cousins

Tiffany “Tiff” Cousins is a research social scientist specializing in applied research, spatial data science, and disaster resilience. Her work integrates geospatial analysis, data modeling, and research methods to surface the story behind data and support evidence-based decision-making. She focuses on geospatial data collection, synthesis, and analysis, with an emphasis on tools and frameworks for post-disaster field studies, disaster resilience and risk management, and urban planning applications.

At National Institute of Standards and Technology, she is part of the Community Resilience Group. In this role, she supports applied research and metrology using Geographic information systems (GIS) and related methods across the Community Resilience Program and the Disaster and Failure Studies Program. She also contributes GIS analysis and visualization to the National Construction Safety Team’s Hurricane Maria investigation and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program.

Cousins has a background in geosciences, geography, and urban planning, and is currently a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech. Her dissertation examines the use of 311 data for spatiotemporal analysis and post-disaster mapping of pluvial flooding in New York City. She has collaborated across disciplines, including public health, civil engineering, and community engagement. She has supported projects ranging from disaster recovery funding analyses to interactive risk assessment tools and field data collection.