ECU Fulbright Scholar researches disaster recovery, resilience

ECU Fulbright Scholar researches disaster recovery, resilience

An East Carolina University faculty member is receiving a prestigious, national award to support his research on places of worship that serve as hubs of disaster recovery and resilience. Dr. Jason M. Pudlo, assistant professor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Department of Political Science and a Water Resources Center affiliate, will be a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Canada during the 2026-27 academic year.

Pudlo, whose expertise includes disaster recovery research in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, will travel to the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, from January through May. His research may help link emergency managers to local resources both in the United States and Canada.

"It is pretty exciting, and I want to thank everyone involved at ECU, the University of Regina, my colleagues and family," Pudlo said.

To learn how places of worship are a key part of the disaster recovery cycle, Pudlo will connect with various denominational houses of worship and community networks active in relief efforts. He will examine who the religious institutions work with, their capacity to assist, and the similarities between U.S. and Canadian disaster recovery systems at the local and national levels.

"What is interesting about Canada is that they have a similarly structured governmental system," Pudlo said. "With the territories and provinces, and a loosely directed emergency management system, there is a lot of discretionary power at the local level, similar to the U.S."

According to Pudlo, some of today's relief work stems from a history of missionary work in both Canada and the United States. Both countries sent missionaries around the world beginning in the 1800s, and many of these organizations were also involved with humanitarian relief.

"Understanding how houses of worship fit into the disaster relief system will help link emergency managers to local resources in both the United States and Canada," Pudlo said.

He said this will be especially important in the United States, at a time when the U.S. government is pushing for states and local leaders to take on a larger role in disaster management. This also ties into Pudlo's research in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene and the lessons learned that may be applied to future events.

The prairies and forests of Saskatchewan, Canada, are often prone to wildfires and flash flooding. Pudlo said North Carolinians typically face different hazards. However, these are large-scale events that move whole towns, similar to what happened in western North Carolina during Helene.

"There are risks in building community infrastructure along rivers," Pudlo said. "Even small creeks became powerful and destructive. In extreme events like Helene, those buildings can be unavailable to support their communities."

After Hurricane Helene, Pudlo recorded damage in many towns. He documented how multiple community organizations and places of worship came together to provide assistance to others in the way of donations of food, water, supplies, and labor to help clear mud, trees and other debris.

"It was very common for volunteer fire departments to be used as staging grounds for donations, aid distribution and volunteer outreach teams," he said.

Pudlo said the West Yancy Volunteer Fire Department was a good example - similar to congregations - that served as a hub of resilience. Their department was a rally point for volunteer outreach teams to bring supplies and assistance to people in hard-to-access communities. A private helicopter dropped off supplies as community members came to pick up much-needed items.

He said that multiple spontaneous aid donation and distribution sites run by survivors eventually attracted attention from professional disaster responders and were then visited by the Salvation Army and Samaritan's Purse teams, among others.

"This really showed the organizational diversity that went into creating resilience hubs for the community," Pudlo said.

Fulbright Awards

Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious fellowships that offer scholars transformative opportunities to teach and conduct research abroad while strengthening their professional development and fostering long-term connections that enrich their careers, campuses and communities. Among the achievements of Fulbright alumni are 63 Nobel Prizes, 98 Pulitzer Prizes and 83 MacArthur Fellowships.

Fulbright Canada is a joint, treaty-based organization between the United States and Canada. It is supported by Global Affairs Canada, the U.S. Department of State, and a group of corporate sponsors, charitable trusts and university partners.

Fulbright Canada is committed to community development and fostering cultural understanding. The organization aims to grow intellectual capacity, increase productivity and assist in the shaping of future leaders.

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