Derek Baca is a senior at Colorado State University and an undergraduate intern and research assistant at the Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis. He plans to graduate in the spring of 2013 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Minor in Media Studies. He plans to attend graduate school in the future and pursue a career in Disaster Management and Risk Analysis. Email: derek.baca@rams.colostate.edu
Samantha LaFever is an undergraduate research assistant with the Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis, as well as a senior student associate of the Center for Public Deliberation. She is in her senior year at Colorado State University and will be graduating in the spring of 2013 with a B.A. in Sociology accompanied by a minor in Political Science. Combining these academic interests, she is fascinated by how people communicate about disaster. Specifically, she is interested in how the quality of communication and resultant public awareness impact disaster preparedness and how after action reports during recovery can feed back into better preparedness. Samantha works on literature and media searches, writes news updates for the CDRA website, has published an article in the department newsletter, is networking with local emergency managers to expand the internship program, and is completing the FEMA Professional Development series. Email: samlla@rams.colostate.edu
Jennifer Lambrick is a senior at Colorado State University and an undergraduate research assistant at the Center for Disaster Risk and Analysis. She is working towards two bachelor’s degrees: one in Sociology and another in Journalism and Technical Communication. Jennifer plans to continue her education in graduate school, and is considering marine affairs or urban and environmental planning. She hopes to eventually work in environmental and science communication. As a part of the CDRA team, Jennifer assists with data collection, management, and entry tasks. She has worked on the Hurricane Risk Perception study and is currently working on the Joplin youth recovery project. Email: jen.lambrick@rams.colostate.edu