Name: Re-centering Impacted People: A Meta-Analysis of Best Practices for Engaging Disaster-Affected Individuals
Start: 2026-05-13T13:00:00-0600
End: 2026-05-13T13:15:00-0600

2026 CRHNet Symposium

Re-centering Impacted People: A Meta-Analysis of Best Practices for Engaging Disaster-Affected Individuals

Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:15pm MDT

PIC 233

Disaster response and recovery are most effective when the people directly affected are meaningfully engaged in decision-making, planning, and implementation. Yet, across Canada and internationally, emergency management systems still struggle to operationalize community-driven approaches beyond consultation. This presentation synthesizes findings from a meta-analysis of current research, after-action reviews, and practitioner literature to answer a core question: How can emergency management organizations more effectively engage disaster-impacted individuals as partners, not recipients, in response and recovery?

Drawing from Canadian case studies, global resilience research, and contemporary participation theory, this session distills cross-cutting best practices into actionable strategies for policy and practice. Themes include: enabling survivor leadership, co-production of recovery services, supporting spontaneous volunteer structures, removing institutional barriers, and aligning funding and governance mechanisms to support community agency rather than institutional control.

Speakers

Kayla Klatt

Student, NAIT Disaster and Emergency Management Program

Kayla Klatt is an emerging emergency management professional with a background in administration, Indigenous advocacy, human rights, and disaster management. Her experience with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency sparked a strong interest in how individuals and communities come... Read More →

Erica Woolf

Director, Central Operations, Alberta Emergency Management Agency

Erica Woolf is the Director of Central Operations with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, where she leads provincial programs in emergency social services, business continuity, and alerting. With over a decade of public sector experience, she has advanced complex, cross-government... Read More →

Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:15pm MDT
PIC 233 NAIT Producitivity and Innovation Centre

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2026 CRHNet Symposium

Kayla Klatt

Erica Woolf

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2026 CRHNet Symposium

Kayla Klatt

Erica Woolf

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