Brandi Gilbert, Ph.D.
Associate
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE
Dr. Gilbert has used program evaluation and research as tools to inform practice and policy in both the national and international context. Her work has included research and evaluation on disaster preparedness among community-based organizations, volunteerism in higher education, housing recovery efforts following the Haiti earthquake, and women’s involvement in technology-focused fields. Throughout her work, she has engaged with various entities such as schools, churches, community colleges and universities, government agencies, and community-based organizations. Her evaluation interests include youth development/education, issues of social inequality, community and systems change, and disaster preparedness and recovery. Dr. Gilbert is experienced with various aspects of acquiring and conducting evaluation and research projects, including proposal writing, budget preparation and management, instrument development, procedures associated with the protection of human subjects, qualitative data collection and analysis, report preparation, and presentations to local and national level audiences. She received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Delaware and her doctorate at the University of Colorado; additionally her training includes participation in the American Evaluation Association Graduate Education Diversity Internship program and the American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship program.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
2013 / Ph.D. in Sociology / University of Colorado Boulder2007 / Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education / University of Delaware
WORK HISTORY
April- 2013 Present /Community Science
Gaithersburg, MDSupports community-based evaluation projects in multiple capacities, including evaluation planning, data collection, and data analysis. Other responsibilities include contributing to reports and presentations for practitioners, scientist, and the general public and assisting with proposal development.
2007 – 2013
Graduate Research Assistant
/Natural Hazards Center, University of
Colorado-Boulder
Boulder, CO2013USGS Tsunami
2013 USGS Tsunami Scenario Project Evaluation
Assisted with evaluation planning to asses the U.S. Geological Surveys’ emergency planning scenario, including development of logic models, data collection strategies, and interview protocols. Documented observations of tsunami scenario planning meetings through field notes.
2012-2013 Netherlands-U.S. Water Crisis Research Network
Collaborated with U.S. and international Dutch partners to share existing research and evaluation findings on issues of public preparedness and emergency management.
2009-2012
/Warnings Decisions and Extreme Weather Events
Assisted in development of interview protocol. Collected, coded, and analyzed data from qualitative organizational interviews with local forecasters, public officials, and other broadcast media representatives. Participated in mental modeling research cross-training with National Center for Atmospheric Research.2010-2011
/Temporary Housing Planning in the Haiti Earthquake
Participated in project fieldwork in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel, Haiti conducting interviews with government officials and key personnel in agencies providing temporary housing. Analyzed organizational correspondence among shelter cluster participants.
2007-2009
/Bay Area Preparedness Initiative: Disaster Preparedness among Community-Based Organizations
Collected, coded, and analyzed data from qualitative interviews with leaders of 90 community-based organizations. Assisted with technical report and published findings in book chapter and at national conferences.
2008 – 2009
Intern
/American Evaluation Association’s Graduate Education Diversity Internship Program
Boulder, COConducted an assessment of the University of Colorado Women’s Resource Center (WRC) Student Volunteer Program, which involved independently developing the study design and interview protocols and conducting 20 face-to-face interviews with WRC staff and volunteers. Analyzed data and developed an evaluation finding report, which the WRC staff used to adapt the program in the following academic year.
2007
Research Assistant
/Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware
Newark, DEUsed qualitative software for analyzing interviews concerning the waterborne evacuation of Lower Manhattan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
PUBLICATIONS
Lee, Kien and Brandi Gilbert. (Forthcoming). “Embedding the Graduate Education Diversity Internship Within a Larger System.” New Directions for Evaluation.
Ritchie, Liesel, Kathleen Tierney, and Brandi Gilbert. 2010. “Disaster Preparedness
among Community-Based Organizations in the City and County of San Francisco: Serving the Most Vulnerable.” Pp 3-39 in Community Disaster Recovery and Resiliency: Exploring Global Opportunities and Challenges, Edited by D. S. Miller and J.D Rivera.
Engel, Karen, Alexandra Jordan, Brandi Gilbert, and Liesel Ritchie. 2010. “Putting
Disaster and Emergency Management Evaluation in the Dutch Context: Learning from International Experience.”(In Dutch). Magazine of Crisis Management and National Security, September 2010 Issue.
SELECTED TECHNICAL REPORTS
Theory and Practice of Community Reconciliation: A Literature Review. (2013). Written
for Andrus Family Fund. [Contributing Author]
Warning Decisions in Extreme Weather Events: Exploring Inter-Organizational Warning
Processes for Flash Floods in Boulder, Colorado and Hurricanes in Miami, Florida. (2011). Written for the National Science Foundation. [Co-Author]
Women’s Resource Center Student Volunteer Program. (2009). Written for University of
Colorado Boulder Women’s Resource Center. [Principal Author]
Disaster Preparedness Among Community-Based Organizations in the City and County
of San Francisco. (2008). Written for the Fritz Institute. [Contributing Author]
RECENT PRESENTATIONS, SYMPOSIA, AND WORKSHOPS
Gilbert, Brandi. It Took a Part of Your Life Out: Lifestyle Changes Following the BP Oil
Spill. Presented at the American Sociological Association Conference, New York, NY, August 2013.
Gilbert, Brandi. Vulnerability and Resilience as Process: A Multi-Disciplinary
Perspective to Inclusive Disaster Planning and Policy. Presented at Advancing and Redefining Communities for Emergency Management Conference, Washington, DC, March 2013.
Ritchie, Liesel and Brandi Gilbert. Resilience from the Bottom Up: Assessing Disaster
Preparedness in Community-Based Organizations. Presented at the Annual Meetings of the Society for Applied Anthropology. Denver, CO, March 2013.
Ritchie, Liesel and Brandi Gilbert The Role of Stakeholder Feedback in Disaster
Preparedness Evaluation: A Collaborative Project with the US Geological Survey. Presented at American Evaluation Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN, October 2012
Gilbert, Brandi The Activism that Never Happened: A Case Study of Youth Volunteerism
Following the BP Spill. Society for the Study of Social Problems, Denver, CO, August 2012.
Gilbert, Brandi and Nnenia Campbell. “You’re Not From Around Here, Are You?” Self-
Presentation in the Field. Presented at Annual Conference of Black Sociologists, Denver, CO, August 2012.
Gilbert, Brandi. Understanding Children’s Disaster Recovery within a Social Context.
Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop, Children and Disasters Panel, Boulder, CO, July 2012.
Gilbert, Brandi. Addressing Values and Valuing through a Culturally Responsive
Evaluation Framework. Presented at American Evaluation Association Conference, Anaheim, CA, November 2011.
Gilbert, Brandi and Liesel Ritchie. Assessing the Needs of Youth in the Aftermath of the
Gulf Oil Spill. Presented at American Evaluation Association Conference, Anaheim, CA, November 2011.
Gilbert, Brandi and Liesel Ritchie. Filling a Critical Gap: Recognizing the Role of Non-
Governmental Organizations in U.S. Disaster Preparedness and Response. Presented at Veterans Health Administration Comprehensive Emergency Management Program Evaluation and Research Conference, Washington, DC, May 2011.
Gilbert, Brandi, Alexandra Jordan and Liesel Ritchie Warning Decisions in Extreme
Weather Events. Poster presented at American Evaluation Association Conference, San Antonio, TX, November 2010.
Ritchie, Liesel, Kathleen Tierney and Brandi Gilbert. Exploring the Role of Community-
Based Organizations in Helping Vulnerable Populations Prepare for and Respond to Disasters. Presented at Netherlands US Water Crisis Research Network Meeting, Newark, DE, December 15 2009.
Gilbert, Brandi. Examining Stakeholder Input: A Culturally Responsive Evaluation of the
Women's Resource Center Student Volunteer Program. Presented at American Evaluation Association Conference, Orlando, FL, November 2009.
Gilbert, Brandi. Exploring Context in Evaluation: The Importance of Cultural and
Historical Context. Presented at American Evaluation Association Conference, Orlando, FL, November 2009.
Ritchie, Liesel and Brandi Gilbert. Assessing Disaster Preparedness Among
Community-Based Organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Presented at American Evaluation Association Conference, Orlando, FL, November 2009.
Tierney, Kathleen, Liesel Ritchie, Brandi Gilbert and Duke Austin. Assessing
Preparedness within the Critical Civic Infrastructure: Preliminary Findings. Presented at the Fritz Institute Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 2008.
Gilbert, Brandi. Surviving Katrina: An Investigation in the Writing & Literacy Practices of
Teachers & Students. Presented at American Educational Research Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 2007.
Gilbert, Brandi. Literacy in a 12th Grade Language Arts Class Following Hurricane
Katrina. Presented at 8th Annual McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars Research Symposium, Newark, DE, August 2007.
OTHER RELATED ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Chair, American Evaluation Association Disaster and Emergency Management Topical
Interest Group, 2012-Present
Dissertation Fellowship Recipient, American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program, 2012- 2013
Committee Member, American Evaluation Association Presidential Task Force, 2012
Ralph and Barbra Dakin Award for Outstanding Scholarship on Social Problems
Recipient, University of Colorado Boulder Sociology Department, 2012
Undergraduate Research Mentor, Miramontes Arts & Sciences Program, University of
Colorado Boulder, 2012
Gulf Coast Fund Research Grant Recipient, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisor, 2011
Program Chair, American Evaluation Association Disaster and Emergency Management Topical Interest Group, 2010-2012
Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI) Program Grant Recipient, American Evaluation Association, 2009
Conference Co-Organizer, Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop,
2008-2012
Co-Chair, Annual Hazards and Disaster Student Paper Competition, Natural Hazards
Center, University of Colorado Boulder, 2008-2012
Committee Member, Chancellor’s Committee on Women’s Affairs, University of
Colorado Boulder, 2008
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Evaluation Association
American Sociological Association
Gender and Disaster Network
Society for the Study of Social Problems
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