There’s something undeniably powerful about becoming the person your younger self once needed.

For nonprofit management alum Britt Johnson ’23 ’25MNM, that transformation came full circle.

Johnson, who experienced homelessness and a lack of resources growing up, was recently named executive director of Christian HELP, a local nonprofit dedicated to preventing homelessness by supporting at-risk households.

“I see myself in some of the children who come to us fighting hunger. … Now I lead an organization that [supports] and protects them.”

The organization primarily serves the ALICE population — Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed — working families who may be one car breakdown or missed paycheck away from crisis.

“I see myself in some of the children who come to us fighting hunger and [lacking] resources because I was once that child,” Johnson says. “In my own personal life, I experienced homelessness. I experienced a lack of basic necessities. Now I lead an organization that [supports] and protects them.”

Establishing an Educational Foundation

Johnson’s path to leadership wasn’t linear.

After dropping out of high school to help support his family, he spent 17 years away from the classroom. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he enrolled at Orange Technical College and earned his GED.

He later attended Seminole State College before transferring to UCF through the program. At UCF, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science before enrolling in the ’s program.

That education changed more than his career trajectory — it introduced him to nonprofit Christian HELP. Its mission focuses on preventing homelessness by helping people find work, access resources and build stability.

In 2021, Johnson began volunteering there to fulfill a Seminole State honors program service requirement. But the moment he started working with clients, he recognized himself in them.

“It looked like my lived experience,” he says. “I got really connected to the mission.”

Rising Through the Ranks

What began as 20 volunteer hours turned into years of service and leadership. Johnson rose through the organization as volunteer coordinator, resource manager, food distribution lead and care manager before being named executive director in November 2025 — just before graduating with his master’s degree.

Today, he leads with a philosophy grounded in listening first and meeting people where they are to best provide the help they need.

“When I walk into a neighborhood or a church or a city council meeting, I’m there to co-create with the community, not prescribe it,” he says. “We have to listen first before acting.”

Christian HELP provides everything from one-on-one career coaching, resume clinics, financial literacy workshops and skill-building sessions. Through its Central Florida Employment Connections division, the nonprofit hosts six regional job fairs each year at the Central Florida Fairgrounds, connecting employers directly with job seekers. Its food pantry distributes more than 1 million pounds of food annually across Orange and Seminole counties.

“Our services help provide stability in times of uncertainty.”

For clients actively working toward employment, the organization also provides targeted financial assistance, helping cover expenses like gas, an oil change or a utility bill.

“Our services help provide stability in times of uncertainty,” Johnson says. “If you’re not working, you’re going to tip over into a spiraling cycle of issues, and we want to prevent that.”

Under Johnson’s leadership, Christian HELP is continuing to expand. This spring, the organization opened a second Orange County location through a partnership with Peace United Methodist Church, bringing employment services, grocery support and financial literacy programs directly into neighborhoods.

The Heart of the Mission

In 2025, Johnson was named an Emerging Leader Impact Award recipient by Heart of Florida United Way and recognized as an Alumni Excellence Honoree by Seminole State College. He was also recently accepted into Nova Southeastern ����ֱ��, where he’ll pursue a Doctor of Education degree in human service administration.

Still, Johnson says many of the opportunities that made these recognitions and opportunities possible began at UCF. Coursework in volunteer management and cross-sector collaboration gave him practical tools he now uses every day. Just as important were the mentorship, networking and alumni community connections that helped open doors beyond graduation.

“The biggest lesson I carry from UCF to Christian HELP every day is very simple: Access is dignity,” he says. “When you build systems that are welcoming, data-informed and relentlessly human, lives are transformed.”

They’re already renowned researchers and experts in emergency management. Now, professors and are expanding their impact to the federal level after being hand-selected for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Vanguard Executive Crisis Leaders Fellowship.

The fellowship, housed within FEMA’s National Disaster and Emergency Management ����ֱ�� (NDEMU), brings together top crisis leaders from across the nation to strengthen the future of emergency and crisis management. Emrich was selected for the 11th cohort in New Orleans (May 11-15) and Washington D.C. (June 22-26), and Knox will join the 12th in Washington D.C. (July 20-24) and Houston (Aug. 17-21).

Researchers Sought Out by FEMA

Prior to joining the s Emergency Management and Homeland Security program, Emrich and Knox each worked with FEMA in separate capacities.

Emrich spent years working in the organization, from mapping hurricane impacts in Florida in 2004 to helping rebuild trust in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Knox has worked with FEMA through its Higher Education Program, which she has participated in since 2011, lead focus group initiatives, established an annual award, and aided in training curriculum development.

When assembling these new cohorts, FEMA sought out and hand-selected each of them. Typically, it is rare to include multiple academics in these groups, let alone two from one university in consecutive cohorts.

“The fact that there’s two of us from UCF is a really big deal,” Knox says.

“By bringing together these multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral leaders, it will help us better prepare for uncertainty in future disasters.” — Chris Emrich

FEMA formed the program’s cohort model knowing that the future of disaster response depends not on any single agency or sector but on the strength of connections between them. Each cohort brings together crisis leaders from government, academia, nonprofits and the private sector to build the kind of cross-sectoral networks that are nearly impossible to forge during an actual disaster.

“This program is part of a more recent attempt to try to engage across sectors more efficiently,” Emrich says. “By bringing together these multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral leaders, it will help us better prepare for uncertainty in future disasters.”

Strengthening the Field, Benefiting Students

Emrich and Knox will participate in roundtable seminars, site visits and discussions with fellow experts to examine emerging risks and shifts in the emergency management landscape, explore leadership frameworks for navigating crises, and brainstorm strategies to strengthen the field, all while building this trusted, cross-sector network.

Knox sees the fellowship as a chance to build new partnerships and bring national insights back to UCF, ultimately benefiting students.

“Emergency management changes constantly,” she says. “We don’t have the luxury of rinse and repeat. This gives us another avenue to bring the latest thinking directly into our courses. I’m looking forward to exploring these issues through both the lens of researcher and the lens of program director.”

Emrich also sees opportunities for expanding research and collaboration by learning where those in the field are currently struggling.

“I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear what people’s troubles are,” he says. “In academia, we’re fortunate to have the time to think about these things and reflect on how to better support them. Those insights turn into grant proposals, student support and expanding the knowledge base.”

Enhancing UCF’s Cutting-Edge Research

The fellowship also aligns with emerging research areas that UCF is already exploring when it comes to cutting-edge innovations in crisis management.

For example, Emrich is currently using AI to build educational games that teach students about social vulnerability. What would once have taken years of programming work can now be produced from existing course materials and exercise content — opening the door to educational tools that weren’t previously feasible.

“What AI has been able to produce from my knowledge is something I could not have produced on my own,” Emrich says. “One of the things emergency managers are grappling with now is how to use AI productively. I look forward to being part of the conversation.”

Knox is interested in real-time digital replicas of communities, called “digital twins,” that can be used to model disaster scenarios, as well as to test recovery and mitigation plans before they’re needed.

“A lot of emergency management boots-on-the-ground work is to help make decisions with the incomplete information in a very timely manner,” Knox says. “We’re looking at how AI can complement critical thinking skills with new capabilities. I’ve seen it take off in engineering and computer sciences disciplines using real-time social media data to understand evacuation patterns.”

Beyond their individual research, both professors see the fellowship as a catalyst for something bigger within UCF and beyond. They hope it will help them identify new ways to connect expanded emergency management expertise across disciplines.

“M���Բ� faculty members in different departments are doing research that can actively support emergency management,” Emrich says. “I think it might be incumbent upon us to come back to the university and say, ‘This is where we need to be. This is how we connect all of our different experts, stakeholders and partners to make our program even stronger.”

NAPA is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that aims to provide expert advice to assist public administration leaders in building effective, efficient, accountable and transparent organizations. Heim was peer-nominated for the fellowship, through which he will aid in the academy’s mission to strengthen communities and provide guidance to the government on the federal, state and local levels.

“I look forward to engaging with such an incredible group of people who care so much about our country and working together to improve government functioning from the federal down to the local level.”

“I look forward to engaging with such an incredible group of people who care so much about our country and working together to improve government functioning from the federal down to the local level,” Heim says. “Being able to meet and bounce ideas off such an amazingly talented and committed group is a really exciting prospect.”

Heim is one of 42 public administration leaders from across the nation chosen to join the 2025 fellow class. He is also the sixth UCF faculty member to be selected for the honor, which he notes is extremely rare and speaks to the strength of researchers in the School of Public Administration. Selection follows a rigorous review of each individual’s contributions to the fields of public administration and policy.

“I am so pleased to welcome Brad Heim to the academy’s 2025 class of fellows,” says James-Christian Blockwood, NAPA president and CEO. “It is an incredibly important time to honor excellence in public service. Our academy fellows are nationally recognized and respected for their expertise and contributions to their country. Brad exemplifies everything we ask public servants to be.”

The newest fellows’ induction will take place during the academy’s National Conference at the beginning of November in Washington, D.C. They join more than 1,000 existing NAPA Fellows, including former cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators, prominent scholars and executives.

“Having so many faculty representing us on the national level is just a testament to the incredible education that students at UCF and the School of Public Administration receive.”

As Heim continues to build these connections and increase national visibility, Heim says his goal is to continue to provide the level of excellence in teaching and service the UCF School of Public Administration has already accomplished.

“Having so many faculty representing us on the national level is just a testament to the incredible education that students at UCF and the School of Public Administration receive,” Heim says. “Some universities can claim their long heritage as their proof of their excellence. UCF is a young university, so we don’t have centuries of tradition to lean on, but we have achieved nationally recognized excellence in what we do here.”

The three-time alum of the UCF recently took the reins as fire chief of OCFRD — the largest fire and rescue department in Central Florida and the 26th largest in the nation out of nearly 30,000 departments. OCFRD serves nearly 1.5 million citizens and welcomes over 75 million annual visitors.

Throughout his years with OCFRD, Rios has held just about every field and executive administrative position within the organization. He has nearly three decades of experience in public service and has a background in what he refers to as the trifecta of public safety: corrections, law enforcement and fire services.

The triple Knight earned his doctorate in public affairs, along with both his �����������ǰ�’s and master’s degrees, from the College of Community Innovation and Education. Rios says his education and experiences at UCF were crucial in preparing him to lead one of the largest metropolitan fire departments.

“It was an invaluable experience at UCF,” he says. “A lot of my focus through my education was relevant to what we experience here in local government. Everything that I’ve done academically has been building on my knowledge and ability as a practitioner in the field of public safety policy, and it absolutely added a needed perspective as I became a producer of information within the domain of public safety.”

Enhancing Service to the Community

The OCFRD plays a vital role in the community as an all-hazards department, responding to a wide range of emergencies, including providing fire suppression, technical rescues, hazardous materials incidents, pre-hospital care response and community engagement.

“One of the strengths within the public safety community is our ability to adapt to the challenges faced by our community,” he says. “As fire chief, my top priority is the safety and well-being of our citizens, visitors and firefighters. … Close to three decades ago, Florida adopted me — specifically Orlando and Orange County — so this is my way to give back to the community.”

To facilitate this, Rios embraces opportunities for professional learning and interagency collaboration that build upon the traditions of the fire service, aiming to improve the fire department’s services well into the future. This includes investing in employee education and training to ensure OCFRD can provide the highest level of pre-hospital care, developing new partnerships between first responder departments and law enforcement, as well as a nonstop focus on natural disaster preparedness and response strategy.

“As a leading fire department, we create opportunities to address these challenges by refining how we perform our core responsibilities,” he says. “At the same time, we explore how to propel the future of the fire service by embracing innovation and technology.”

With the department’s range of programs, its employees interact with citizens and law enforcement on a daily basis, fostering a sense of community safety and pride among public safety interests. This is especially true during hurricane season in Central Florida.

“We live in a state where natural disasters are prevalent,” he says. “There’s a lot of training and effort that goes into preparing for every hurricane season. Not only do we prepare for the response and recovery, but we also focus on mitigation: How do we prevent catastrophic events from happening year after year? It’s a yearlong focus on how we improve the condition and the quality of life for our citizens.”

Protecting First Responders’ Well-Being

Continuing to provide quality fire and rescue services also requires ensuring that the department’s workforce is adequately supported, Rios says. Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population, according to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.

“I am committed to finding solutions within the fire industry, starting here with Orange County Fire Rescue, to reduce the level of carcinogen exposures that firefighters experience because of the inherent job that they have,” he says. “M���Բ� people may not know … firefighters are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer-related illnesses.”

Another top priority is to ensure that fire service workers have the mental health support they need to continue serving the community. About 20% of firefighters and paramedics meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder at some point during their careers — a similar rate to military members returning from war, according to a Journal of Occupational Health Psychology study. It’s especially important to provide resources to help fire and rescue service members process the traumatic events they witness regularly on the job. The department’s collaboration with has been instrumental in providing these services to the workforce through research and development of innovative trauma treatment, as well as delivering peer mental health support training to first responders.

“Our firefighters are constantly involved in individuals’ worst nightmares: They live them on a daily basis,” Rios says. “So, we owe it to them — in order to have an operational workforce that is ready to respond to the community’s needs — to focus on the well-being and the mental health of our employees.”

Rios says his education and experiences at UCF were crucial in preparing him to lead one of the largest metropolitan fire departments and manage its responsibilities. Today, he gives back to the community, which he considers one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.

Each early-career faculty researcher is making a substantial impact through their respective areas of expertise.

As in previous years, the variety of disciplines represented through the awards showcases UCF’s commitment to cultivating and recognizing groundbreaking and academically diverse research.

Honorees will receive a $10,000 annual research grant for three years in addition to the distinction of being an award recipient.

The prestigious award is second only to Pegasus Professor as UCF’s highest faculty honor.

The UCF community is cordially invited to come and congratulate the recipients from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2 in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union as part of the 2025 Founders’ Day Faculty Honors Celebration.

This year’s Reach for the Stars honorees are:

Amrita Ghosh

• Assistant professor of South Asian literature at UCF’s within its and a member of The India Center at UCF
• Ph.D. in postcolonial literature and theory from Drew ����ֱ��.

Amrita Ghosh hopes to create an understanding in conflict zones and bridge gaps in cultural interpretations spanning the varied peoples of South Asia through her cultural and literary research.

Her research as an assistant professor of South Asian literature at UCF focuses on studying literature and media from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, among others.

Ghosh says she hopes to bring to light a better understanding of the nearly 2 billion people inhabiting these countries and how some of them have adapted since gaining independence and sovereignty from occupying nations.

“My research is important because it creates an understanding of the effects that colonialism had over South Asia for over 200 years, including the sources of conflicts, but also the resilience of the people,” she says. “It enables us to build cross border solidarity with a part of the world that’s often mired in essentialized representations.”

Ghosh says she believes there is value in learning about South Asia’s profoundly rich history for not just the 2 billion people living there, but for everyone.

“Through my research I hope to underscore solidarities and critical intimacies that can help mitigate the increasing rhetoric of division and fragmentation that is there in some South Asian nations,” she says. “South Asia has many different communities, ethnicities, identities and cultures living together. Through my work I hope to highlight syncretic pasts and how to also forge ahead together toward ethical futures.”

Ghosh was inspired by her family history tracing back to modern day Bangladesh. She had studied the aftermaths of the British partitions of the Indian subcontinent into Bangladesh, India, Pakistan.

“Prior to researching the Partition, I was always interested in this huge historical rupture because of stories I heard within the family,” Ghosh says. “I grew up hearing stories of Partition, of courage, resilience and of friendship of cross border relations. Many such families exist in South Asia with stories of Partition that are there buried within families and that created an interest for me to enter this field of study.”

In addition to her research and student mentorship, Ghosh has shared her prolific findings through authoring or editing a variety of unique books spanning topics on India’s largest film industry in Mumbai, popularly called Bollywood, and literary and media analysis of the militarized border zone such as Kashmir.

She says she’s also working on more enlightening discoveries to be published soon.

“I am also very excited about upcoming research that is coming out on intersecting the narratives of Partition and [artificial intelligence] AI,” Ghosh says. “This upcoming journal article is on how AI can be used in creative imaginations to rethink hatred and foster solidarities and friendships in the so-called rival nations of India and Pakistan.”

While some people may think the arts and humanities are distinct from STEM, Ghosh says she believes they are is both complementary to science and essential in enhancing the human experience.

“Literature, arts and the humanities have an important role at a time when the world is rapidly shifting through technology, scientific and business innovations constantly,” she says. “Literature and the arts can enable us to understand the significance of human reliance towards each other, the values of pluralistic thinking and help us come closer. I say this with hope especially because UCF has been such a space where knowledge is built together alongside many different divergent fields.”

Ghosh’s proficiencies aligned with UCF’s desire to expand its literary offerings, as the university was looking for an expert in South Asian literature. She says she the mutual interest was evident almost instantly.

“When I interviewed with UCF, I was very impressed with the wide variety of different research expertise that is there in my department,” Ghosh says. “After getting to know the department and my colleagues, I knew it was absolutely the right place for me. I also had the chance to meet with students for an interview and I still remember the fantastic energy they had even in a short meeting.”

While she still holds dear the memories of where she had lived before, Ghosh says she feels at home here in Orlando.

“When I first visited Orlando, I was particularly impressed with the dynamism of the city and what it offers to the people,” she says. “In my third year here, I call myself a Floridian now.”

Although Ghosh is comfortable here at UCF, she says that she’s far from finished with furthering her aspirations.

She says that being a Reach for the Stars honoree is incredibly humbling, and that it encourages her to continue growing with UCF.

“I am so thankful for the support UCF has shown me and this award means the world to me to be able to continue my research,” she says. “I feel overjoyed and so grateful for all the amazing opportunities that last three years of UCF have provided me that led to this award.”

Leland Nordin

• Assistant Professor of materials science and engineering at within its with a joint appointment with .
• Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the ����ֱ�� of Texas at Austin.

Semiconductors are specialized components omnipresent in everyday electronics — including the phone that Leland Nordin answered to hear President Alexander N. Cartwright congratulating him on earning a 2025 Reach for the Stars award.

“It was a great honor and surreal moment to receive a call from UCF’s president informing me of the award,” says Nordin, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering whose research focuses on semiconductors. “I deeply appreciate that UCF recognizes the hard work my students and I are doing, and I am excited about the research opportunities this award will unlock.”

Nordin, who also holds a joint appointment at CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics, works to realize better and more efficient semiconductor materials and devices. Specifically, he and his group of students work on specialty devices that emit, detect, or manipulate light — such as lasers, LEDs and photodetectors like those found in a cell phone camera.

“My research is important because semiconductor materials and advanced devices drive nearly every critical technology today and will be central to future innovations,” Nordin says. “These future applications include, but are not limited to, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, next generation 5G/6G communications, autonomous systems, space exploration, and hypersonics.”

While many of these terms may seem cumbersome and unfamiliar, Nordin says he hopes his research helps to translate these technologies into ways that improve the lives of people everywhere.

“I strive to develop semiconductor materials and devices that make a real impact,” he says. “For example, we are working on ultraviolet light emitters, particularly lasers, that could help efficiently sterilize hospitals and other critical environments. Additionally, we are exploring ways to improve computer memory, which is a key bottleneck in modern data centers that power the AI revolution.”

Nordin leverages UCF’s plentiful semiconductor resources, such as its state-of-the-art cleanrooms, to grow his research and educate students.

“We take a ‘full stack’ approach to semiconductor materials and devices, meaning we design, synthesize, fabricate and test our own materials and devices,” he says. “Using molecular beam epitaxy (a process akin to spray painting with atoms) we grow high-quality semiconductor materials. We then carve these materials into working devices in a cleanroom before testing their performance in our lab.”

In evaluating universities where he could launch his career, Nordin says he found UCF to be the most opportune place to harness his multidisciplinary research without excluding or overplaying any one aspect of his work.

“Before joining UCF, I worked across a range of disciplines, including physics, electrical engineering, and materials science and engineering,” he says. “I chose UCF because it is the ideal place to pursue this interdisciplinary work, offering world-class facilities, outstanding colleagues and as I’ve come to appreciate, exceptional research support. I am especially fortunate to have a joint appointment as well.”

Since joining UCF in 2023, Nordin has not only prioritized accelerating semiconductor and optoelectronic research but preparing students for a career in STEM.

“One of my primary goals is to train the next generation of the U.S. semiconductor workforce,” he says. “As an educator, I believe my most significant contribution is the students I mentor and graduate. I want them to be the most hardworking, well-equipped scientists and engineers in the field.”

Nordin says he takes great pride in the student research group he assembled, and that he greatly appreciates their trust in his ability to focus and guide meaningful research.

“I know it may sound corny, but I’m especially proud of the research group I’ve built and their enthusiasm for semiconductor materials and devices,” he says, “There’s always some risk in joining a junior faculty member’s lab, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the students in my group.”

Nordin says he is elated to receive this award, and he reiterates his appreciation for the support of his many close collaborators and friends.

“I am incredibly honored, humbled, and excited to receive this award,” he says. “I would like to express my gratitude to my current graduate students, undergraduate students and my academic mentors.”

Yogesh Rawat

• Assistant professor at the .
• Ph.D. in computer science at the National ����ֱ�� of Singapore.

Yogesh Rawat aspires toward a future where artificial intelligence (AI) is accurate, efficient and ultimately trustworthy.

Rawat, who completed his postdoctoral training at UCF’s Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV) from 2017 to 2019, continues to hone his expertise in AI and computer vision as an assistant professor.

His work with computer vision focuses on video understanding, which enables AI to interpret media and respond to real-world events automatically.

“The world generates massive amounts of video data every second — whether through CCTV cameras, medical imaging or autonomous systems,” Rawat says. “However, manually analyzing such data is nearly impossible. My research focuses on developing AI models that can efficiently process and understand video streams in real time, allowing for faster decision-making in high-stakes environments.”

Allowing AI and machine learning to sift through and decipher video datasets may prove to be valuable as data interpretation can be automated to free up human expertise for high-level decision making, he says.

“The ability to analyze video in real time has immense potential to make our world safer and more efficient,” Rawat says. “From healthcare to security, disaster response and law enforcement, AI can provide instant insights where human analysis may be slow or impractical.

His research is funded by a variety of sources including the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity as part of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and it has resulted in multiple patents and even a startup company. Among his proudest accomplishments are his contributions to secure and AI-powered identification systems.

“The intersection of technology and real-world impact is what drives my passion for this field,” Rawat says.

He credits UCF’s enduring legacy as one of the top computer vision programs in the world to several key factors which ultimately led him here.

“UCF is one of the fastest-growing universities in the country, with a strong commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary research,” Rawat says. “It is home to one of the top computer vision research groups, led by [CRCV Director] Mubarak Shah, and offers a collaborative, resource-rich environment that enables groundbreaking AI research. The university’s strong connections with government agencies also provide an excellent platform for translating research into real world impact.”

Earning a Reach for the Stars award is something, he says, that is both humbling and profoundly inspiring.

“It is incredibly motivating to see my research acknowledged in this way and it reaffirms my commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI for societal benefit,” Rawat says. “This award is not just a personal achievement — it is a testament to the hard work of my students, collaborators and the incredible research environment at UCF.”

Similar to how his work with AI and computer vision is guided by human guidance, Rawat says his success is guided by those who support him at UCF.

“This recognition would not have been possible without the unwavering support of UCF,” he says. “I am deeply grateful to the technical assistance team, Mubarak Shah, [Department of Computer Science Chair] Damla Turgut, [Professor] Gary Leavens and [CECS Dean] Michael Georgiopoulos. I must give special recognition to [CRCV Administrative Coordinator] Cherry Place, whose incredible support has made a profound impact on my success.”

There are so many people at UCF to thank that at times it may be challenging to quantify just how crucial of a role they play, but Rawat says he’s particularly grateful for Place’s assistance and coordination.

“To be honest, at least 30% of what I have achieved would not have been possible without her,” he says. “I truly appreciate everything she has done for me and for our research group.”

Kelly Stevens

• Assistant professor of public administration at within its , and a member of UCF’s Resilient, Intelligent, and Sustainable Energy Systems (RISES) Faculty Cluster�����Ի���.
• Ph.D. in public administration from Syracuse ����ֱ��.

There’s no better place for remaining resilient and adaptive than the Sunshine State.

Kelly Stevens, assistant professor of public administration at UCF, thrives by navigating Florida’s unique weather conditions, energy opportunities and challenges through her research in sustainable and resilient technologies.

Much like the technologies she researches, Stevens harnesses creative methods of pursuing a bright future.

“A major part of my work right now looks at what community members identify as problems related to energy, resilience, and sustainability,” says Stevens, who is a member of UCF’s Resilient, Intelligent and Sustainable Energy Systems (RISES) Faculty Cluster. “It’s useful for people who are engineers or policy makers to understand how something like a power outage impacts people differently across the state — the elderly, the poor, people with medical conditions.”

Before she adopted the signature black and gold of UCF, she donned shades of garnet and gold while earning her master’s in meteorology from Florida State ����ֱ�� and working as a meteorologist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in the Division of Air Resource Management. Stevens says she was drawn to policy and program design as she continued immersing herself in the field of air quality modeling and monitoring.

Stevens returned to Florida after completing her doctoral degree in public administration from Syracuse ����ֱ�� and supplementing her existing background with electricity and energy expertise.

She says bridging the gap between academic research and practice within Florida and beyond is part of how she ensures work makes a positive impact.

“I’m excited to be back in Florida applying what I’ve learned to different energy and environmental projects here in Central Florida,” Stevens says. “With my background in both social and physical sciences, I try to move beyond typically siloed disciplines to talk about complex questions in our energy system from a more holistic perspective. I believe this strategy is important to so we can better translate from science to practice by making sure technologies we create here at UCF are useful and user-friendly.”

Disaster preparedness is a critical component of resiliency, and it is something Floridians need to be particularly aware of given the state’s susceptibility to adverse weather such as hurricanes, she says. Her efforts to help local people is something Stevens says is incredibly rewarding.

“The project I am most proud of is the NSF-funded Resilience, Education and Advocacy Center for Hazard preparedness, the REACH hub,” she says. “We worked closely with the City of Orlando to design a portable and innovative resilience hub to provide energy-related services before and after disasters here.”

The hub eventually will be delivered to and used by the City of Orlando for local use to help residents stay safe, recharged and informed.

“With community feedback … we designed a solar-powered, portable hub with an extensive battery system to provide internet connection, cooling, information via display screens, and device charging that can help residents prepare for and respond to a disaster,” Stevens says. “The hub is built, we are conducting demonstrations, and anticipate the hub will be used by the City of Orlando as soon as this hurricane season.”

Stevens says she’s grateful for the collaborative nature of UCF, particularly for the Faculty Cluster Initiative, which links faculty from different colleges, institutes and centers together to accomplish interdisciplinary breakthroughs.

“I am deeply grateful to be part of a talented and innovative team of researchers who embrace challenging questions and different perspectives in their work,” she says. “I am also grateful for the support and opportunities provided by the Faculty Cluster Initiative in fostering interdisciplinary work, as well as support from the College of Community Innovation and Education as well as the School of Public Administration for highlighting the great work that happens here.”

Stevens says that the funds earned from the Reach for Stars award will sustain and further her research while helping to inspire and energize students.

“It is a huge honor to be recognized for this early-career award,” she says. “The research funding will be beneficial for funding more students to continue research on power outages and resilience over the next few years.”

UCF is one of 12 universities nationwide — and the only school in Florida and the southeast — that will participate in the new Service to Service initiative. The national pilot program is dedicated to connecting veterans and their families with graduate educational pathways in public service and helping them find impactful long-term careers in public leadership. By encouraging service members to pursue higher education in public administration affairs, this military-to-public-service pipeline is intended to help veterans leverage their military experience in rewarding new roles.

Participants can apply for scholarships and use their GI bill toward the program. Recruitment starts in Spring 2025, and the program’s launch is scheduled for Fall 2025.

Service to Service is a collaboration between two nonprofit organizations: The Volcker Alliance, which supports public service education, and We the Veterans, which aims to empower service members and their relatives. UCF joins Cornell ����ֱ��, Arizona State ����ֱ�� and others in having been selected as a pilot site for this initiative.

, director of the and the school’s representative to The Volcker Alliance, says he believes Service to Service is an excellent opportunity for veterans who want to transition into a civil service career.

“The military is always an untapped resource,” Goodman says. “M���Բ� veterans leave the military with a lot of experience, and they want to continue that level of experience by serving their communities. We want to provide quality education that engages our veterans, and the Service to Service program can better connect us with that group of people.”

Students who join the initiative, known as Service to Service Fellows, can further their education through UCF’s graduate programs in public administration, emergency and crisis management, nonprofit management, public policy, and regional and urban planning. Goodman says the fellows will also enjoy various program benefits such as mentorship, community-building, professional development opportunities and even facilitated job placement.

“Students in the Service to Service program will have access to resources such as seminars, online workshops and trainings across the country,” Goodman says. “They’ll be able to network not just locally but nationally with cohorts at other participating universities.”

, a 23-year Army veteran and director of UCF’s , adds that the program serves as an avenue for veterans seeking guidance in their next chapter.

“Veterans often leave the service feeling lost, not knowing who they want to be or what they want to do,” Kepner says. “Trying to become a civilian overnight can be very difficult, and finding work after military life can feel like trying to find your first ‘grown-up’ job. Service to Service is a fantastic way for veterans and their families to find their footing in local or state government roles where they can continue serving the community.”

Looking ahead, Kepner says he is excited about the Service to Service initiative and thinks it will have a highly positive impact on the service members and military families who decide to enroll.

“Florida is a great state for veterans,” Kepner says. “A lot of veterans and retirees come down to Florida, and as more veterans move here, Service to Service will allow them to explore new career options. I think it’s going to pay huge dividends for transitioning service members to discover who they want to be.”

In January, U.S. News & World Report ranked UCF No. 8 for Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans. In 2024, UCF received the Collegiate Purple Star Campus designation, which recognizes the university for its efforts to support military and veteran students through 2027.

Those wanting to learn more about the Service to Service program should contact the School of Public Administration.

NAPA fellows are tapped to provide insight and experience to address current and emerging issues in government, from overseeing academy projects and lending expertise to providing guidance and contribution to discourse on government.

“The 2024 class of academy fellows reflects a wide range of professional experience, including dedicated civil servants and accomplished academics,” says Terry Gerton, president and CEO of NAPA. “These 42 leaders will be an enormous asset to the academy in the years ahead, and we look forward to working with all of them to help create a bright future for our country.”

Fellows are selected based on a rigorous review of an individual’s contributions to the field of public administration and policy. The Fellows Nominating Committee makes its recommendations to nearly 1,000 existing fellows, who then vote on which candidates to induct. Those currently serving in the academy include former cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators, prominent scholars, executives, nonprofit leaders and more. A new cohort of academy fellows is inducted annually during NAPA’s fall meeting.

Knox is one of only 24 NAPA fellows in Florida — a distinction she says she finds both rewarding and humbling. As a first-generation college student hailing from coastal Louisiana, Knox says she doesn’t take any of her educational or research-based accomplishments for granted. Knox, who also serves as the academic program coordinator for UCF’s emergency and crisis management master’s program, is the fifth professor in the to be named a NAPA fellow. Her induction to the academy follows those of in 2015,  in 2020, Pegasus Professor  in 2021 and in 2023.

“To have this amazing honor is extremely humbling, and I could not have done this without the support of friends, family, mentors and colleagues who have guided me on the path that got me to where I am now,” she says. “So much of my research and mentorship approach has been focused on lifting up the next generation. … This academy allows us the opportunity to work with the elite of public administration — from all levels of government and academia — to tackle wicked problems by pushing for good governance through the study and practice of public administration.”

Knox says that one of the greatest responsibilities that comes with being a fellow is providing recommendations for consideration by federal government.

Grant Hayes, dean of the UCF College of Community Innovation and Education, says Knox’s expertise in emergency management will be a valuable contribution to the NAPA fellowship.

“I am pleased that Dr. Knox has been invited to join an elite group of academy and industry professionals in public administration, reflecting her dedication to conducting impactful research and informed advocacy,” Hayes says. “This strong commitment to engaging in transformative research aligns well with our college’s central mission of collaborating with community stakeholders to create innovative solutions to complex … issues.”

With that in mind, ����ֱ�� Professor and his team of graduate and postdoctoral researchers set out to the city of Cape Coral, Florida, after Hurricane Ian in September to collect critical impact data.

Their goal was to provide empirical evidence on where exactly hurricane storm surge flood waters reached throughout the city during the storm’s peak, which is essential data needed when planning for recovery and mitigating future storm impacts.

Cape Coral was one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian as it made landfall in Southwest Florida in September.

Emrich’s team identified the resource gap almost immediately. The U.S. Geological Survey, which was already on-site conducting survey missions to collect data in several areas, was not tasked to collect high-water mark data from communities affected by flooding in the municipality of Cape Coral.

Seeing an opportunity to conduct field research that would be beneficial to the city’s local officials, Emrich worked directly with UCF’s and the city’s administration to get into the field before flood marks were either washed away or cleaned up by disaster survivors.

Using the designation UCF Emergency Management Research Initiative, Emrich assembled students and postdoctoral scholars from UCF’s Sustainable Coastal System’s Cluster (one of UCF’s Faculty Cluster Initiatives) — including Gene Longenecker, the former Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Modeling Task Force lead.

“We need to know empirically –– scientifically –– where the water was, because it’s a critical step for planning,” Emrich says. “To find this data, we had to get creative.”

Emrich says collecting this data is also time-sensitive because of residents’ desire to clean up immediately after a storm and future rain events can erase the evidence they are looking for.

Starting with data on Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance requests already summarized by FEMA at the U.S. standard 1-kilometer national grid level, the team’s mission focused on identifying areas of flood damage and existing gaps in high water mark collection by other agencies and entities.

Over the course of six days, the team traveled across Cape Coral identifying debris lines, seed lines and other clues on mostly public and vacant land to flag and measure high water marks throughout the city. Emrich’s team flagged more than 150 high water marks using direct measurements.

Emergency management professionals are already reaping the benefits of the team’s labor, as their data will become part of the official USGS database for immediate access by anyone interested in undertaking flooding, hydrology or storm surge modeling.

Surveyors from the city of Cape Coral revisited flagged high water-mark data collection sites to provide survey grade measurements, a step which Emrich says is critical to ensuring the team’s data can be used by the most people — from emergency managers to hydrologists and others interested in improving storm surge models.

“We want to see how our perishable situational data compares to scientifically measured survey grade data,” he says. “If the data we collect are accurate enough for local professionals to use in future planning, it means the data we can collect quickly in future disasters become that much more useful.”

Emrich says he aims to continue building on the success of the mission in Cape Coral to create a standing, deployable team that government at all levels can call upon to conduct rapid data collection missions anywhere in Florida.

“After every tornado, the National Weather Service sends out a team to conduct a survey,” Emrich says. “We want to be the team that can do that for every flooding event in Florida. Somebody needs to measure the qualitative and quantitative impacts that would otherwise be lost after those events. We cannot create effective, efficient and accurate plans for disaster recovery without baseline information on hazard exposure.”

He adds that the initiative is about more than simply collecting data.

“We want to take the information we collect and use it to answer tough scientific questions that we can turn into wisdom for emergency management professionals,” Emrich says. “When people look at the impact of a disaster, they first look at the amount of federal aid distributed. For various reasons, federal datasets only tell part of the story, even from a financial perspective. We want to help paint the full picture so the professionals in the field can make the best decisions for their communities as they move from response to recovery.”

Emrich received his doctoral degree in geography from the ����ֱ�� of South Carolina and joined UCF’s School of Public Administration, part of the , in 2016. Emrich also leads UCF’s Sustainable Coastal Systems research cluster and co-leads UCF’s .

Through this project, Resilience, Education and Advocacy Center for Hazard preparedness (REACH) hubs will be developed thanks to a recently announced $50,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Civic Innovation Challenge program. They could be deployed any time a disaster — whether natural or human-made — strikes.

Leading the project is a team of UCF faculty, including Assistant Professor Kelly Stevens and Associate Professor Yue “Gurt” Ge, Assistant Professor L. Trenton Marsh, and College of Engineering and Computer Science professor Liqiang Wang and Pegasus Professor Zhihua Qu.

The REACH hubs will be able to serve two primary roles. Following disasters or local emergencies, the hubs will provide critical services such as cooling, broadband internet and reliable electricity to areas whose access to those needs may already be unstable. The hubs also will serve as hazard-preparedness and hands-on STEM education centers.

“Different types of hubs are being developed and used across the U.S., but ours is unique in that it has an equally important use during non-emergency times,” Stevens says. “Making a solar-powered, portable hub is technically challenging, but the benefits it can provide to communities whose access to standard services may already be restricted without an external shock make it well worth it.”

Stevens says that the grant also paves the way for partnership opportunities.

“The NSF CIVIC program is unique because it focuses on civic partnerships that can be quickly implemented and ultimately sustained long-term by participating local partners,” she says. “We will host a local stakeholder meeting next month with our partners and two public input meetings in December to really get feedback from the whole community.”

She says the community meetings will help determine factors ranging from what services the hubs will provide and where they will be deployed after a disaster to which educational topics should be covered during non-emergency events.

Beyond the external partnerships, Stevens says this project opens the door for new cooperation with other UCF colleagues across different disciplines.

“The research we are doing builds on interdisciplinary coordination from public administration, computer science and engineering across UCF,” she says.

The research team will have six months to prepare a plan for the REACH hub and submit it to the NSF, after which they are eligible for up to $1 million in awarded funds to execute the project.

About the Research Team

Stevens received her doctorate in public administration from Syracuse ����ֱ�� and joined UCF’s School of Public Administration, part of UCF’s College of Community Innovation and Education, in 2017.  She is a member of UCF’s Resilient, Intelligent, and Sustainable Energy Systems (RISES) Cluster and

After joining UCF in 2018, Ge has since been appointed co-lead of the Urban Resilience Initiative based at UCF Downtown. He has also served on the RISES faculty research cluster since 2021. He holds a doctorate in urban and regional science from Texas A&M ����ֱ��.

Marsh earned his doctorate in urban education from New York ����ֱ�� and joined UCF’s College of Community Innovation and Education in 2019.

Qu arrived at UCF in 1990 after earning a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Currently the Thomas J. Riordan and Herbert C. Towle Chair of UCF’s , he is also the founding director of both the RISES, a university research center on energy systems, and the multi-institutional (FEEDER).

Wang earned his doctorate in computer science from Stony Brook ����ֱ�� in 2006 and joined the UCF in 2015.

That’s why the ����ֱ�� and a team of researchers from across the country have just released a new online tool that can help people determine how ready their home, or future home, is for the next big storm.

The tool, called HazardAware, is now live, just ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The easy-to-use tool allows users to plug in an address and instantly receive the property’s HazardReady score. The score shows just how resilient, or disaster-ready, a home is, and projects how much hazards, such as winds and flooding, could cost a homeowner each year.

HazardAware can provide reports for 13.3 million addresses in 196 counties along the Gulf of Mexico — including all of Florida, and parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.  This is a region that is historically impacted by hurricanes and other large hydrometeorological hazards each year.

With continued funding, HazardAware could also be expanded to cover the entire U.S. and other disasters such as wildfires and earthquakes.

A property’s HazardReady score takes into account 15 potential threats, including hurricane winds and flooding. The score also considers social and environmental vulnerability, community resilience, and home construction factors.

Users can choose to receive an emailed custom home report for their address, and they will also receive a renter and homebuyer checklist that can help ensure they ask the right questions next time they are in the market for a home.

The tool is part of a larger $3.4 million, multi-institution UCF-led project funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program.

“When people buy houses, they generally think about location, pricing, crime, walkability and things like that,” says Christopher Emrich, principal investigator of the research and a Boardman Endowed Associate Professor of Environmental Science and at UCF. “But rarely do people think about how much hazards will cost. By going to HazardAware, people can compare houses and get more information they can use to make crucial decisions and smart choices about where they live.”

For example, the score includes work by international expert and UCF coastal risk engineer Thomas Wahl. Using his models of changes in future coastal flood risk, the tool produces an estimate of when a property will see coastal flooding or when flooding potential will double for properties already in coastal flood zones.

“We want to democratize this very scarce and very difficult to find hazard disaster and impact information,” says Emrich, who also co-leads UCF’s and Sustainable Coastal Systems research cluster. “Some of this data would require a Ph.D. and 40 hours of investment to make sense of, but we want to put it into everyone’s hands. HazardAware has built a team capable of pulling together this type of ‘fugitive’ or hard-to-find information for homeowners and renters in the coastal zone.”

For next steps, the researchers want to provide customized mitigation information through the tool for each home highlighting what can be done to reduce future hazard loss. They also want to implement an option where users can improve their home’s resiliency score by inputting upgrades they’ve made, such as installing stormproof windows or a certified roof.

“I think the impetus for all this is to help people stay in their homes after a disaster by mitigating the threats hazards pose,” Emrich says. “If we can protect people’s homes, and people don’t have to leave, then they don’t suffer mental distress as deeply, and they don’t lose jobs as frequently. We can avoid a bunch of losses just by keeping people in their homes.”

Partner institutions in the project are the ����ֱ�� of South Carolina, Arizona State ����ֱ��, Louisiana State ����ֱ��, the ����ֱ�� of Florida, the ����ֱ�� of New Orleans, Louisiana Sea Grant, Florida Atlantic ����ֱ�� and the RAND Corporation.

The project’s cross-discipline research team includes experts in geography, engineering, economics, hospitality and tourism, political science, ecology, environmental law, sustainability, mitigation, resilience, behavioral health sciences, housing policy, climate adaptation, and science and technical communication.

UCF’s contributors include Wahl, a assistant professor; Assistant Professor Kristy Lewis; Rosen College of Hospitality Management Assistant Professor Sergio Alvarez; Associate Professor Jacopo Baggio; Associate Professor Sonia Stephens; Public Administration Associate Professor Claire Knox; Project Coordinator Roel Fleuren; (SMST) Information Systems Engineer Susan Bethel; SMST Senior Information Systems Engineer Eric Johnson; SMST Department of Information Systems Technology Program Director Tammie McClellan and SMST Web Designer Erica Recktenwald.

Emrich received his doctoral degree in geography from the ����ֱ�� of South Carolina and joined UCF’s School of Public Administration, part of the , in 2016.