Mentoring Philosophy My mentoring philosophy revolves around the need for students, professionals, and citizens to understand "why things work". In emergency management, we have to understand people and communities to be able to understand why the processes work (or don't). People are successful not because of knowledge or skills gained - but because they understand the why of it and how to apply those skills. I work to understand my students, including their objectives and goals as well as their motivations.

To accomplish this, I strive to create and maintain clear communication with students, enabling them to set achievable goals, create work plans to progress toward those goals, and provide clear and consistent feedback on that progress. I strive to be open-minded and inclusive, learn from my peers and students, and accept differing opinions. By the end of their training experience, students are better prepared to perform a variety of hard and soft skills and positioned to perform in academia and professional careers.