Biography
Dr. Jackson is an Assistant Professor in the Emergency and Disaster Management Program
at WCU. She teaches undergraduate courses on risk and vulnerability assessments, disaster
mitigation and emergency planning, environmental justice in hazards, and Geographic
Information Systems (GIS). Dr. Jackson’s scholarship as a human-environmental geographer
focuses on social vulnerability, risk perceptions, and community capacities to prepare,
respond, recover, and mitigate environmental hazards. Her published research has analyzed
the spatial disparities of COVID-19 outcomes in U.S. counties and inequities in U.S.
hazard mitigation planning.<br><br>Originally from Southwestern Illinois, Dr. Jackson
worked as a Geospatial Analyst in the St. Louis area and as a Geography Instructor
at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. While at the University of South Carolina
for her Ph.D., she performed research at the Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience
Institute. Her dissertation research project investigated the role of local geographic
contextual elements on tornado risk perceptions and protective actions. The study
applied a novel social science conceptual model to better inform emergency management
and community hazard planning. Dr. Jackson is the recipient of (1) the Evelyn Pruitt
Fellowship from the Society of Women Geographers, (2) the Rhude Patterson Fellowship
from the USC Graduate School Trustees, (3) the SPARC Graduate Research Grant from
the University of South Carolina, and (4) the John Fraser Hart Award from the Southeastern
Division of the Association of American Geographers.<br><br>Overall, Dr. Jackson's
specialties in scholarship and teaching include:<br>- Geographic Information Systems
(GIS)<br>- Disaster Mitigation<br>- Hazard Risk Assessments<br>- Social Vulnerability<br>-
Community Resilience<br>- Environmental Justice<br>- Natural, Technological, and Climate
Hazards
