The first cohort of the Increasing Diversity in and Equitable Access to Applied Learning in Disaster Research Response: IDEAAL DR2 initiative, which was launched this year in partnership with the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities at the University of Washington (UW), gathered in August 2024. 

As part of this initiative, six BAF Fellows and Alumni joined a larger group of 19 other advanced doctoral students and early career researchers for a five-day short course. The group participated in interactive training modules at the UW campus in Seattle, engaged in a tabletop exercise at the Seattle Office of Emergency Management, and received training at the RAPID reconnaissance facility. 

The group will spend the upcoming year completing individual research projects, with the goal of developing a publishable paper or other significant research product. Congratulations to current fellows Judanne Lennox Morrison and Joseph Karanja, as well as BAF alums Drs. Maggie León-Corwin, Natasha Malmin, Tihara Richardson Sommers, and Melissa Villarreal for their acceptance into the inaugural IDEAAL cohort!