Samantha Taylor ('16, '20 M.P.A.) was visiting family when Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013.

"As the typhoon made landfall, we felt the forceful winds in our hotel rooms, lost power and witnessed flooded streets," she says.

After the storm, her family helped distribute cases of water with the American Red Cross -- and she found her purpose.

"Helping distribute basic necessities on someone's worst day made me realize my mission in life is to continue helping others."

Taylor was named director of emergency management for Denton County this summer and will oversee disaster response efforts. She learned from UNT professors in emergency management and disaster science, whose fieldwork has taken them across the U.S. to assist in the preparation and recovery of communities after natural disasters.

Professor Tristan Wu and his team were awarded a three-year grant by the U.S. National Science Foundation to study how people search for tornado risk information and make decisions to protect themselves and their families.

Associate Professor Ronald Schumann III is collaborating on a study that examines the efficacy of community-level wildfire risk reduction efforts.