Laura E. R. Peters, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Oregon State University (OSU) who researches how deeply divided societies build knowledge about and act upon contemporary social-environmental changes and challenges, including those related to disasters, climate change, and health. Laura leads the Disasters in Divided Societies Lab at OSU, and serves as an Honorary Lecturer at the Department of Risk and Disaster Risk Reduction at University College London (UCL). She is the Research Director of Stema, a disruptive London-based research group pioneering new approaches to global health challenges. Her applied research on disaster risk reduction, disaster diplomacy, and environmental peacebuilding seeks not just to reduce and mitigate risks but also to co-develop explicit strategies that strengthen social-environmental sustainability and justice, support community and planetary health and wellbeing, and build durable peace. Prior to OSU, Laura was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University College London cross-appointed to the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction and the Institute for Global Health, and at American University in the School of International Service. She earned her PhD in Geography at Oregon State University, MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University, and MA in International Development and Cooperation at Korea University.
