Defense Presentation Title: Disaster Nonprofit Relief, and Housing Recovery, Using GIS Techniques

Advisor: Dr. Bethany Cutts, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management

Abstract: Volunteer organizations contribute to household disaster recovery through coordinated networks. North Carolina Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (NCVOAD) is the North Carolina chapter of National Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD) and is responsible for coordinating volunteer-based support of response and recovery efforts following disasters. To make volunteer labor helpful to recovery, they act to improve coordination, communication, collaboration and cooperation among non-profit groups. Collectively, NCVOAD organizations aspire to go the “last mile” to serve diverse communities in ways that state and local emergency management personnel cannot. However, it is not clear how effective NCVOAD is at quickly coordinating its member organizations or if the communities they serve are those in most need. This dissertation explores NCVOAD’s ability to coordinate response and recovery activities through the application of geospatial analytics.