The ADES faculty members are all experts in this exciting new discipline. Each brings a unique combination of education and experience that provides the ADES students with a well rounded education.

Etsuko Yasui, PhD

Dr Yasui completed her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia, School of Community and Regional Planning, in December 2007. Her doctoral research investigated the recovery processes in two small Japanese neighbourhoods in the aftermath of the 1995 Kobe Earthquake. This research uncovered complex relationships between community vulnerability and capacity building. The Kobe earthquake hit the Kansai region of Japan while Etsuko was attending the University of Oregon (Eugene, OR), where she studied environmental issues and international development. Since the Kobe earthquake, Dr. Yasui has become interested in the social aspects of natural disasters, and in particular issues of social vulnerability, human development, and long-term consequences. Her current work focuses on the human impact of disasters and the assessment of community capacity in coping with such events. Dr. Yasui was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan.

Balfour Spence, PhD

Dr. Spence joined the ADES Department from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica in 2008 after 12 years lecturing in the Department of Geography and Geology. He researches and publishes extensively on issues related to disaster risk communication, disaster risk assessment, disaster and development as well as environmental management and food security. His teaching and research experience covers the Caribbean region but also Indonesia. Dr Spence has also supervised and examined several PhD and Masters researchers in the Caribbean.

John Lindsay, MCP

Mr. Lindsay received the degree of Master of City Planning from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a research focus on urban planning and emergency management. He now combines research with 20 years of experience in the field. He worked in New Zealand for six years, first as a hazard analyst in Wellington and then managing the Auckland City Council emergency management program. He returned to Canada to join Manitoba Health as a disaster management specialist from 1999 to 2005. He started teaching at Brandon University in 2001 and has held a fulltime appointment since 2005. Mr. Lindsay contributes to the disaster management profession through research and at numerous conferences as both an organizer and speaker. His recent research for the Public Health Agency of Canada and Public Safety Canada focused on disaster vulnerability.

Their shared disaster research interests include education, risk communication, community-based planning, socio-economic vulnerability and resiliency, business continuity, urban and rural issues and emergency management policy.