My research focuses on decision-making in emergency contexts, especially around the question of how we leverage expertise & evidence to manage disasters more effectively. Within that, I tackle a few related issues:

- Decision-making: How do managers and members of the public make decisions? How do they consider science & other forms of evidence as part of these processes? And, how can we support better decision-making in crises?

- Expertise: Who counts as an 'expert' in emergencies? How is reliable expertise developed and maintained? And, how should we approach controversies where seemingly reliable experts disagree with each other?

- Policy: How do decision-making practices & expertise get enshrined into governance + policy? How do policy, regulatory, and operating regimes constrain or enable good decision-making? And how do we build policy (both in institutions and governments) that can support better outcomes in emergencies?

- Research Methods: How do we improve the quality of data, evidence, and science that we generate during emergencies? How can we enhance our research methods - especially qualitative methods - to provide more reliable insights?

Research Interests

My research focuses on decision-making in emergency contexts, especially around the question of how we leverage expertise & evidence to manage disasters more effectively. Within that, I tackle a few related issues:

- Decision-making: How do managers and members of the public make decisions? How do they consider science & other forms of evidence as part of these processes? And, how can we support better decision-making in crises?

- Expertise: Who counts as an 'expert' in emergencies? How is reliable expertise developed and maintained? And, how should we approach controversies where seemingly reliable experts disagree with each other?

- Policy: How do decision-making practices & expertise get enshrined into governance + policy? How do policy, regulatory, and operating regimes constrain or enable good decision-making? And how do we build policy (both in institutions and governments) that can support better outcomes in emergencies?

- Research Methods: How do we improve the quality of data, evidence, and science that we generate during emergencies? How can we enhance our research methods - especially qualitative methods - to provide more reliable insights?

The majority of my research focuses on wildfire management, especially in the Canadian context (although I've also studied wildfire in Australia and the United States). I typically use applied methods, including interviews, surveys, and observation, to better understand how management agencies can improve their knowledge and practices. I'm working on a book on the subject and several papers.

Outside of wildfire, I've been working a great deal on COVID over the past three years. I study how science is - or isn't - used in decision-making processes, as well as public attitudes, perceptions, and impacts.

I also have a particular passion for research methods and program evaluation, and am eager to partner with emergency- and hazard-related organizations to help them learn about their successes and opportunities for improvement. I welcome inquiries by email to this end. I'm happy to work with both undergraduate and graduate students with interests in the areas mentioned above.

I am also happy to help provide background to media and public service organizations about wildfire management. I monitor my email actively for these requests, and additional contact information can be obtained through the York media office.

Finally, I am the director of a Canadian Not-For-Profit organization called the "Forum on Science, Policy, and Society," dedicated to training the next generation of policy leaders. We run a program called "Science Outside the Lab" for graduate students, postdocs, and early career researchers each year. More details can be found at SOtLnorth.ca.

Please see my CV, personal website, and Google Scholar page for my most up-to-date publication information.

Degrees

Research Interests