IBS Associations
Environment and Society Program
Population Program
Graduate Research Assistant, Natural Hazards Center
CU Population Center
Brief Biography
Jocelyn West is a graduate research assistant at the Natural Hazards Center and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research interests include social vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change and community engagement in disaster risk reduction. At the Center, West has coordinated the multi-year Puerto Rico Landslide Hazard Mitigation Project in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez. She has also co-developed a CONVERGE Training Module about Reciprocity in Hazards and Disaster Research.
West’s professional experience spans disaster management and geological science, focusing on disaster risk and recovery. West has previously worked to improve risk communication with the World Bank, conducted earthquake research in Nepal, and participated in disaster response in Texas and Puerto Rico. She has also worked internationally in Singapore, Indonesia, Dominica, and Peru. West holds an MA in sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in geological science and education policy from Brown University.
