Amber Shumpert is the currently working on a PhD in business administration with a specialization in homeland security policy and leadership. Her focus on demonstrating a link between natural disasters, climate change, and homeland security, with the goal of elevating the political importance of these topics. Shumpert is the community liaison for an EPA-funded research project with the University of Alaska that will monitor wildfire smoke and its impact on Alaska’s socially vulnerable populations. Data from the project will bolster her efforts to change how wildfires are managed in Alaska and seek federal grants to provide air purifiers to members of indigenous populations, older adults, and low-income families.
Shumpert currently holds a bachelor’s in emergency and disaster management and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in homeland security resource allocation. Her dedication to emergency management is drawn from her time serving in the U.S. Army as an explosive ordnance disposal technician (bomb squad) and campy ‘90s disaster movies. She is currently the regional safety officer for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) where she focuses on occupational safety and hazards, as well as serving as the DOT&PF liaison to the local department of emergency management.