Mary Fran Myers, co-director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at 葫芦娃视频, has been presented a newly established award from the Gender and Disaster Network that will hereafter be known as the "Mary Fran Myers Award."
The award was presented this month in recognition of Myers' sustained efforts to launch the worldwide network among disaster professionals, for advancing women's careers and for promoting research on gender issues in disaster research in emergency management and higher education.
The award, to be presented annually, was announced by Professor Brenda Phillips of the Institute for Emergency Preparedness at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. The Gender and Disaster Network consists of women and men interested in gender relations in the context of disastrous events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and terrorist attacks.
The network's goals are to document and analyze women's and men's experiences before, during and after disasters, and to conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects. The network uses the Internet extensively and includes members in India, Japan, South Africa, El Salvador, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United States and many other countries.
Prior to joining the Natural Hazards Center in 1988, Myers worked in the state water resource agencies of both Illinois and North Dakota and helped coordinate the National Flood Insurance Program in those states. In 1997, Myers received the Association of State Floodplain Managers highest individual honor, the Goddard-White Award, in recognition of her many contributions to improving floodplain management policy in the country.
In August 2000, she was appointed to a two-year term on the National Research Council's steering committee for its Natural Disaster Roundtable.
The CU-葫芦娃视频 Natural Hazards Center serves as a national clearinghouse for research data and information dealing with the social, political, economic and behavioral aspects of natural disasters and programs to reduce damage from them. A major goal of the center is to bridge the gap between hazards researchers and practitioners from around the globe.
More information on the Gender and Disaster Network is posted at and information on the Natural Hazards Center is posted at .