DeeDee Bennett Gayle

DeeDee M. Bennett Gayle, PhD, is a Professor of Emergency Management at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She is the lead director of the Extreme Events, Social Equity, and Technology Lab. Her research broadly examines the influence and integration of advanced technologies on the practice of emergency management and for use by vulnerable populations, in particular older adults, people with disabilities, as well as racial and ethnic minorities. Recently, her studies have also focused on workforce development and participation in disaster management fields.

Dr. Bennett-Gayle has led several research grants and contracts as PI or Co-PI, including from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security. Employing experimental designs, qualitative one-on-one and focus group interviews, and quantitative survey analysis, her research explores ways to increase disaster preparedness, reduce vulnerability, and shorten recovery primarily in the United States. Her work spans all hazards, focused on micro-level impacts from tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme winter weather, infectious diseases, wildfires, and flooding, among others. Her studies also include investigating the use of a wide range of technologies for disaster preparedness, such as mobile wireless devices, social media platforms, mobile applications, virtual reality, personal intelligence devices, and artificial intelligence.
 

Dr. Bennett Gayle's work has been used in the formation of policy. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging regarding disaster planning for people with disabilities and older adults and presented in town halls for the NYS Assembly members regarding COVID-19. She is co-author on five Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulatory filings and White House comments, many of which were cited in rulemaking. Her work has been covered or quoted in Spectrum News, Washington Post, Newsweek, USA Today, CNBC, WURD Philadelphia, and Honolulu Civil Beat, among others.
 

She co-authored the book Empowered or Left Behind: The Use of Technology During COVID-19, co-edited the book volume Social Vulnerability to COVID-19: Impacts of Technology Adoption and Information Behavior, and is co-editor of the Palgrave Studies in Disaster Science and Emergency Management Book Series. In 2023, she was selected as one of the Ocean Decade Champions by the National Science Foundation and the Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation for research on marginalized populations. 

Dr. Bennett Gayle received her PhD in Fire and Emergency Management from Oklahoma State University. She has a unique academic background, receiving her MS in Public Policy and BS in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.