Biography

James Kendra is a professor in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration and Director of the Disaster Research Center. Previously, he was coordinator of the Emergency Administration and Planning Program in the Department of Public Administration at the University of North Texas. His research interests focus on individual and organizational responses to risk, improvisation and creativity during crisis, post-disaster shelter and housing, infrastructure outages and adaptations, and planning for behavioral health services. Projects have included research on the re-establishment of New York City’s emergency operations center after the 9/11 attacks, a major study of the waterborne evacuation of Manhattan on 9/11, research on the social impacts of the Indian Ocean tsunami, and research on the organization of disaster behavioral health services.

Kendra has participated in several quick-response disaster reconnaissance trips, including the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, 2003 Midwest tornadoes, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and Hurricane Ike in 2008. He has also documented maritime relief efforts in the US following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He is a certified emergency manager and has been involved in several emergency planning and exercise efforts. He holds a Ph.D. in geography from Rutgers University.​

Degrees

• PhD, ​Geography, Rutgers University
• MS, Geography, University of Massachusetts
   

​Research Interests

Individual and organizational responses to risk, improvisation and creativity during crisis, post-disaster shelter and housing, planning for behavioral health services, urban affairs, organizational management, organizational behavior, organizational leadership, effective communications, collaborative problem-solving, ethics, urban growth management, community engagement and civil society, state and local government, intergovernmental relations and coordination, training for local government officials, disaster science and management, health, planning, environmental, water resources, education, post-secondary education, elder issues, leadership theory and practice, innovation and creativity, design and leadership, qualitative research, focus groups, interviews, document analysis, field observations and ethnography, mixed methods, quantitative research, survey research.