I am an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville; coordinator of the Homeland Security Nursing (Global Disaster Nursing) Graduate Programs; and hold degrees in both Nursing and Clinical Psychology. Specialties in disability and disaster make for an exceptional experiential base, and lend themselves to a unique research focus. Current research projects include a phenomenological study of the experience of persons with disabilities who responded as rescuers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; a phenomenological examination of social media messages sent by survivors and responders following the 2010 Haiti earthquake; and an oral history of health providers who have spent their entire careers caring for survivors of the atomic bombing during World War II.