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 like emergency management policy, maternal-infant health in crises, disaster volunteer management, mental health and wellbeing after hazard events, and radiological and nuclear emergency planning. 

The applied nature of disaster research allows her to work closely with emergency management agencies from the local to federal level 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, and the U.S. National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. 

She has conducted post-disaster fieldwork in Houston, TX (2019) and Ft. Myers, FL (2023), 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, Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference, the International Sociology Association (ISA) World Congress, and the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. 

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).