Disasterology

Dr. Samantha Montano first became interested in disasters following a trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the Levee Failure. For years, she worked with various nonprofits in New Orleans on recovery efforts related to Katrina and then the BP Oil Disaster response in 2010. 

She has a B.S. in Psychology from Loyola University New Orleans and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Emergency Management from North Dakota State University. 

She is the author of Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis published in 2021 by Park Row.

Samantha is currently an assistant professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. She has taught courses on a range of disaster subjects including disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation, vulnerable populations, the political and legal foundations of emergency management, disaster communications, disaster film, and disaster nonprofits.

Her research interests include basic emergency management theory, evaluation of emergency management policy and practice, and the perceptions of emergency management. You can review her research here. She is a co-founder of Disaster Researchers for Justice and the Center for Climate Adaptation Research.

In addition to research, she is passionate about public engagement, especially regarding the climate crisis. She has written for/ been interviewed by many national publications including the New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times and published in the Washington Post, Teen Vogue, City Lab, and Vox, among others. A full list can be found here.

The opinions expressed on this website are entirely those of the author and not any associated institutions.