DISASTER RESEARCH CENTER

DRC Alumni Profiles

DRC alumni are extraordinary people who carry out the mission and vision of our center each and every day. Click on the pictures below to read the alumni profiles which illustrate the diverse career paths our graduates have taken. Profiles are listed by most current class year, and then alphabetical by last name. Thank you to every DRC alumnus who has helped to develop this resource.
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Mary (Maggie) Nelan

DEGREE: 2016, Ph.D., Sociology
JOB TITLE: Assistant Professor, University of North Texas
Mary Nelan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science at the University of North Texas. She earned her MA in Sociology from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 2011, and in May 2010 she traveled to Haiti to volunteer as a relief worker after the earthquake 4 months earlier. It was this experience that drew her to disaster research and informed her Master’s Thesis on international disaster volunteers. During her Ph.D. studies at the University of Delaware, Mary worked as a Research Assistant at the Disaster Research Center where she was a member of several projects funded by the National Science Foundation. As part of her research, she conducted quick response fieldwork following Hurricane Sandy and the May 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes. Her time at the Disaster Research Center provided experiences and training that she continues to use in her current position.

Mary’s current research focuses on convergence behavior in the response phase of disasters. Her research has addressed international disaster volunteers, and donation behaviors in the United States.

Alumni Engagement

Alumni are the university’s most valuable resources. By investing your time, talent and treasure, you make a deep impact that increases the value of a University of Delaware degree. View some of the ways we keep engaged below.

DRC 2019 07 NHW Alumni Reception

ABOVE: DRC faculty, students and alums at the Annual DRC Alumni Reception, 2019.

Each year DRC hosts the Annual DRC Alumni Reception at the Natural Hazards Workshop! This is a great opportunity to meet DRC alums and to connect/reconnect with old and new friends.

Share Your Knowledge

Each semester, we welcome our alumni to share their work, research, and experiences with our students. Whether they join us in person or virtually, our current students are always excited to hear from those in the expansive network of DRC alumni from around the world. Reach out to drc-mail@udel.edu! We would love to hear from you.

Inspire the Future

Our alumni value providing hands-on experiences for our students, be it through practicums, internships, and invitations for students to come and share their innovative research with the alum’s organization. Some have even designated awards to support students through assistantships, summer internship stipends, and travel support to attend conferences. Contact us at drc-mail@udel.edu if you have an idea of how you want to support this next generation of scholars and practitioners.

Stay Connected

Stay connected to DRC by following the Disaster Research Center on Facebook and on Twitter, signing up for the DRC Dispatch newsletter, and updating your contact information to help us better communicate with you. 

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