Message from the Director: Rachel Davidson, PhD

2024 was a busy and successful year for CHEER. Hub members presented their research at various conferences, including the Disaster Research Center’s 60th Anniversary Workshop at the University of Delaware and the 2024 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. Our first two journal articles have appeared, with several more in the pipeline. The Hub has been and will continue to develop its Stakeholder-based Tool for the Analysis of Regional Risk (STARR) framework in 2025.

The CHEER team has also grown. In addition to the launch of The CHEER Chronicle and its LinkedIn page, the Hub has welcomed ten new members. The Hub also hosted its first community partner and practitioner engagement workshops and added seven new practitioner partners, one of which is highlighted in this issue’s Partner Perspectives column. Finally, eight more students joined CHEER’s league of summer scholars alumni as the Hub graduated its second cohort. It’s hard to believe that we’re already recruiting for our 2025 program. Applications are due on Friday, February 14th.

We are excited to continue sharing CHEER’s outstanding work and research in 2025. The best ways to stay updated on the Hub’s latest happenings are by subscribing to our e-newsletter – if you have not already – and joining our LinkedIn page. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to Hub or its researchers at any time with your feedback, questions, or thoughts about our work.