Expertise

• Emergency Management
• Collective Behavior in Disaster
• Disaster Recovery

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Disaster Science & Management, University of Delaware

M.A., International Development, American University

B.A., Political Science, University of Central Florida

TEACHING

• HSEP 310 Risk and Vulnerability Assessment
• HSEP 391 Disaster Response and Recovery
• HSEP 603 Risk Assessment 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Emergency management policy, collective behavior in disaster (household preparedness, evacuation, and sheltering), community resilience, risk communication, disaster research ethics, social vulnerability, environmental justice, disaster mythology

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Louis-Charles conducts applied and theoretical research focused on human and organizational behavior in disaster for better-informed policy and practice in the field of emergency management. Louis-Charles’ research on ethical post-disaster fieldwork was selected for the opening plenary of the 2020 International Researcher Committee on Disasters-Researchers Meeting held in conjunction with the 45th Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. Louis-Charles was the Co-Pi of the National Science Foundation INCLUDES project- Minority SURGE Capacity in Disasters, which mobilized underrepresented STEM graduate scholars towards disaster recovery efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands following the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.

Louis-Charles is a Founding Fellow and the current Vice President of the William A. Anderson Fund, a non-profit that mentors underrepresented doctoral students within the academic disciplines relevant to hazard mitigation and disaster risk reduction.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Louis-Charles, H. M., Aguirre, B., & Kitnurse, J. (In Press). The Aftermath of IrMaria in the U.S. Virgin Islands: Temporal Patterns of Looting, Burglaries, and Community Solidarity. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters

Louis-Charles, H. M., Howard, R., Remy, L., Nibbs, F., & Turner, G. (2020). Ethical Considerations for Post-Disaster Fieldwork and Data Collection in the Caribbean. American Behavioral Scientist, 64(8):1129-1144. doi:10.1177/0002764220938113

Teron, L., Louis-Charles, H. M., Nibbs, F., & Uppalapati, S. S. (2019). Establishing a Toxics Mobility Inventory for Climate Change and Pollution. Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 12(4), 226-234. doi:  http://doi.org/10.1089/sus.2019.0003

Martins, V., Louis-Charles, H., Nigg, J., Kendra, J., & Sisco, S. (2018). Household Disaster Preparedness in New York City before Superstorm Sandy: Findings and Recommendations. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 15(4). doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsem-2017-0002

Louis-Charles, H. M., & Teron, L. (2017). Environmental Migration, Public Perception, and Immigration Policy: Examining the Hidden Environmental Toll of Terror Hysteria. Environmental Justice, 10(6), 181-185. doi:  http://doi.org/10.1089/env.2017.0012