Director's Corner

Our hazards and disaster workforce is facing unparalleled demands. Center Director Lori Peek argues that our diversity is a source of strength and power that can help us help more people.

Following tradition, Natural Hazards Center Director Lori Peek delivered a wrap-up and call to action at the close of the 49th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop. Read her summary from this year’s event.

Following tradition, Natural Hazards Center Director Lori Peek delivered a wrap-up and call to action at the close of the 48th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop. Read or watch her summary from this year’s event.

Center Director Lori Peek delivered her traditional wrap up and call to action at the close of the 47th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop. Read or watch her summary from this year’s event.

As we ready ourselves for the 47th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop focused on equity and adaptation, Director Lori Peek reflects on changing climates of many kinds.

A recent meeting with seasoned emergency management professionals points to compassion as key to guiding others through the toughest of challenges.

As the 46th annual Natural Hazards Workshop wrapped up, Center Director Lori Peek delivered her “sense of the meeting.” Read and view her closing remarks from this year’s Workshop.

Director Lori Peek reflects on the challenges and opportunities that face the hazards and disaster workforce—and why they are the focus of this year's Natural Hazards Workshop.

In the wake of recent acts of mass violence, Lori Peek has some advice for how we can support youth in times of crisis.

While the spectacles in Washington might seem far removed from the disasters we face, they serve to distract the public and hinder agencies that work to keep us safe. Now more than ever, we need to keep our focus.

Please help amplify the voice of the natural hazards community by sharing your “smarts and hearts” with the One Thousand Letters Project.

Longtime disaster researcher Lori Peek has a new perspective on disaster preparedness—that of an evacuee. Read more about her experience in the latest Director's Corner.

As the 45th annual Natural Hazards Workshop came to an end, Center Director Lori Peek delivered a wrap up and call to action. Read and view her closing remarks from this year's Workshop.

Active Hope will serve as our guide for the 2020 Natural Hazards Workshop. Read the latest Director’s Corner as Lori Peek explains how the concept inspired her and this year’s event.

Right now, we are at a turning point. We can tell the story of this age as one of our decline or as one of a great transformation. Read the latest Director’s Corner as Lori Peek asks you to consider what story you will tell.

Even while a global pandemic tears at the fabric of our social interactions, Director Lori Peek reminds us that our commitment to each other is our strength.

Vulnerability to disasters is most often a burden born by those who don’t have the social or financial capital to refuse it. Lori Peek discusses why we must choose our words carefully when we talk about those who bear vulnerability.

As the 44th annual Natural Hazards Workshop wrapped up, Center Director Lori Peek delivered her "sense of the meeting." Read her closing remarks from this year's Workshop.

From its inception, the Natural Hazards Center has been about facilitating collaboration and communication. While that mission hasn’t changed in the past 40-plus years, the way we do that has. Read more about our past—but more importantly, our future—of making connections.

The results of the 2018 SSEER Census of the hazards and disasters social science community will be released February 5. Learn more about the effort and get a preview of the results in this Director’s Corner.

The Natural Hazards Center rolls out the new Social Science Extreme Events Research (SSEER) initiative—and calls on social scientists to lend their expertise.

As the 43rd annual Natural Hazards Workshop drew to a close, Center Director Lori Peek reflected on perspectives from the event and posed questions to ponder in the coming year. Read her closing remarks from this year's Workshop.

We've posed some big questions to be answered at the 2018 Natural Hazards Workshop. Lori Peek gives insight into why.

As we look back on an especially costly year in terms of disaster losses, Director Lori Peek reflects on the current and future intentions of the Natural Hazards Center.

With the recent passage of the tax overhaul plans, Center Director Lori Peek invites us to think about a different kind of deficit that we may incur if we do not act on behalf of people and the planet.

The pain and suffering caused by recent disasters can make it easy to lose hope. Lori Peek talks about why taking action and counting blessings can be a good remedy.

The importance of getting disaster lessons into the hands of those who need it is more pressing than ever. Lori Peek describes a new Natural Hazards Center platform to do just that—Research Counts is dedicated to giving experts an opportunity to apply their knowledge to current disasters, as well as ponder new questions.

Racial tension and infrastructure became loosely connected when a presidential press conference on building was diverted to concerns about white nationalism. Director Lori Peek talks about why the two topics have more in common than you'd think.

In her first Director's Corner post, Lori Peek reflects on the 42nd Annual Natural Hazards Workshop and publishes her closing remarks.