Sara Belligoni
Assistant Professor of Emergency Management
The City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice
From Rome, Italy, to New York City, Sara Belligoni has built her academic journey around helping communities become stronger and more resilient in the face of disasters. Sara earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Università degli Studi Roma Tre, where her passion for emergency management first began. Humanitarian affairs and disaster response have been at the center of her work since the start of her academic career.
Today, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Management in the Department of Public Management at The City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Her research focuses on disaster vulnerability in small islands, especially Puerto Rico, where she works closely with local stakeholders to strengthen resilience. Sara came to UCF to pursue her doctoral degree in Security Studies with a focus on Homeland Security and Emergency Management. While beginning her dissertation research on Puerto Rico and Hurricane Maria, the Puerto Rico Research Hub was established under the leadership of Dr. Fernando I. Rivera.
After graduating, she returned to UCF as the inaugural Postdoctoral Scholar for the Hub, an experience that shaped her career. “My career changed forever, and for the absolute better,” she shares. Her passion for emergency management is deeply personal. Growing up in Italy, a country frequently affected by disasters, she witnessed the complexity of disaster response and recovery after major earthquakes. “That choice felt as natural and personal as it can be,” she explains.
Sara believes disaster science provides the theory, while emergency management puts that theory into practice. She strongly values community centered approaches and believes the most meaningful solutions come from working directly with the people most affected.
As an international scholar at UCF, she says the experience expanded her perspective and challenged her to think creatively. One of the most rewarding moments of her UCF journey was Commencement. “When I walked to the Commencement stage, I was not alone,” she says. “I carried with me the sacrifices made and the opportunities created by those who came before me.”
For aspiring graduate researchers, Sara encourages students to find their niche, stay curious, and be kind to themselves throughout the process.
To Sara, being a UCF Global Knight means “finding a family away from home.”