Professor
Email: lstough@tamu.edu
709 Harrington Office Building
Laura Stough’s professional career has been spent addressing disparities in the provision of educational and social services for people with disabilities. Her current research investigates the psychological and social effects of disaster on individuals with disabilities. Dr. Stough serves as the Assistant Director of the Center on Disability and Development and is a Fellow at the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M University. Dr. Stough directs Project REDD: Research and Evaluation on Disability and Disaster, which has investigated the impact of disasters, including Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, and the Bastrop County Complex Wildfire, on individuals with disabilities. Project REDD also has conducted large scale evaluation studies of organizations that provide disaster services and produced disaster-related publications, workshops, and resources. She published “Disability and Disaster: Explorations and Exchanges” together with Dr. Ilan Kelman of University College London. The book is the first that focuses on disasters and disability and features narratives written by authors with disabilities across the globe, providing a critical analysis of assumptions about disaster vulnerability. Dr. Stough’s research has been supported by research grants through the Centers for Disease Control, the Association for University Centers on Disability, the Department of Education, and the National Disability Rights Network. At the national level, Dr. Stough serves as the Chair of the Emergency Preparedness Special Interest Group for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. She has provided leadership to the State of Texas as Chair of the Disability Task Force for the Texas Division of Emergency Management, as well as through presentations and workshops on disaster and disability throughout Texas.