Lucy Kaiser (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) is a disaster social scientist specialising in Indigenous and community-centered emergency management. She is a researcher at GNS Science and Massey University in Aotearoa New Zealand, where she is also completing a PhD in emergency management. Her research explores disaster preparedness and resilience, particularly within Māori, Indigenous and rural communities, with a particular focus on Indigenous perspectives on climate change.
Lucy collaborates with iwi, hapū and local communities to develop culturally responsive strategies for managing natural hazards. Lucy has contributed to national and international discussions on disaster risk reduction, school preparedness and climate adaptation, advocating for inclusive, evidence-based policies. She is also an active mentor and educator, supporting the next generation of social scientists in the field of emergency management.
Dr Bhiamie Williamson is a Euahlayi man from north-west New South Wales with familial ties to north-west Queensland. He has led research into the impacts of disasters on Indigenous communities including examining the effects of the 2019–20 bushfires and 2022 northern rivers floods. He is a graduate of the Australian National University and the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Bhiamie leads the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience Project within the Fire to Flourish program at Monash University.
