Roni Fraser

Roni Fraser is an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs and a faculty affiliate with the Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security. As a trained disaster sociologist, her research focuses on disaster response and recovery through an all-hazards lens, including topics such as emergency management policy, maternal-infant health in crises, disaster volunteer management, and mental health and well-being after hazard events. 

The applied nature of disaster research enables her to work closely with emergency management agencies at the local to federal levels within the United States. She currently instructs AWR 330 – Whole Community Inclusive Emergency Management and MGT 312 – Senior Officials Workshop for All-Hazards Preparedness with the Texas A&M Extension Service – National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency / U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Fraser also has experience with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, and Team Rubicon.

She has conducted post-disaster fieldwork in Kerr County, Texas, following the July 4th Floods (2025), Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene (2024), as well as in Houston, TX (2019) and Ft. Myers, FL (2023). Fraser has also conducted remote data collection following Hurricane Idalia (2023) and Hurricane Ida (2021), and deployed as a disaster volunteer following Hurricanes Laura (LA - 2020), Ida (LA - 2021 ), and Ian (FL – 2022), the COVID-19 Pandemic (TX - 2021), and Rio Grande Valley Flooding (TX – 2019). Her publications have appeared in journals such as the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters (IJMED), the Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education (JSIRE), and Women’s Health. She has also presented her research at venues such as the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Fall Research Conference, the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Annual Conference, the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference, the International Sociology Association (ISA) World Congress, and the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. Fraser is currently a 2025 - 2026 fellow with the Investigations in Disasters and Emergencies: Advancing Applied Learning in Disaster Research Response Program (IDEAAL DR2) sponsored by the University of Washington Center for Disaster Resilient Communities, and was selected in 2025 as an awardee of the International Association of Emergency Managers 40 under 40 award. 

Fraser holds a doctorate and master’s degree from the University of Delaware (Sociology), and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas (Emergency Administration and Planning).