He specializes in gender and disaster vulnerability, college student disaster preparedness, and social change and empowerment. Most recently, he is utilizing geographic information systems for mapping disaster risks and cultural preservation in disaster risk areas. He is a member of the U.S. Gender and Disaster Resilience Alliance, the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association, the International Gender and Disaster Network, the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee on Disasters. He is co-organizer of the IRCD Researchers Meeting at the Annual Natural Hazards Workshop at the University of Colorado-Boulder and is an advisory council member and disaster response volunteer for the Coles & Clark Counties, Illinois Branch Office of the American Red Cross.