Mitigation Strategies and Adaptation to Disasters: Focus on SARS-COVID-19

 This session focus is on mitigation strategies and adaptation to disasters looking specifically at the SAR-COVID-19 pandemic. Most institutions have a Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP), however, they may not be tailored to specific disasters such as this pandemic or they may not be updated. When the COOP doesn’t anticipate specific elements, there needs a rapid response to policy decision-making. Rebecca Brenner, Lecturer CIPA at Cornell University and Elizabeth Dunn, Lecturer at College of Public Health at University of South Florida will discuss strategy and policy planning during SARS-COVID-19. What happened, what we learned, and can apply to future decision-making? Both Rebecca and Elizabeth serve together as co-chairs on FEMA Higher Education Service Learning and Leadership Special Interest Group.

Presenters:

Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA is a Lecturer and Teaching Faculty at the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs. Rebecca's primary concentration is in Environmental Policy with a research focus is in natural disasters, assessing vulnerability and building mitigation for resilience in policy and with communities. Rebecca is an Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future Faculty Fellow, an Engaged Cornell Faculty Fellow for 2017-2018 in Engaged Learning and 2018-2019 in Engaged Scholarship, and a Faculty Affiliate of the Mario Einaudi Center's Working Group on Disasters.

Elizabeth A. Dunn, MPH, CPH is an Instructor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health teaching courses in global disaster management, humanitarian relief and global health security. Her research focuses on examining and evaluating disaster management systems working primarily with vulnerable populations and how the built environment and social implications impact at-risk communities. She serves as the Chair of the Hillsborough County Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) working group which is responsible for identifying and analyzing hazards across all jurisdictions in the county and identifying mitigation measures and initiative to minimize vulnerabilities to both the built environment and at-risk populations.