Jessica Nwafor

Jessica Nwafor is a PhD anthropology student at the University of Kentucky, specializing in disaster and space anthropology. Nwafor’s work and research have focused on gender-based violence and the climate change-disaster-gender-livelihood-migration nexus in West Africa, East Africa, and South Asia. She was also a researcher on two United States Agency for International Development-funded projects investigating disaster vulnerabilities across several regions. She researches potential space exploration-induced disasters, emphasizing the impacts of space junk contamination in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments, including the effects of rocket fuel residues from burned-up rockets upon reentry into Earth. As a Bill Anderson Fellow, she is part of a network committed to reducing harm in communities disproportionately affected by environmental hazards and extreme events.