Faculty & Staff

Dr. Sara Belligoni is a disaster scientist and geo-qualitative researcher. Her research delves into the physical, social, and policy dimensions of disasters, focusing on how climate change is altering the characteristics of the ecosystem and extreme weather events, and the subsequent challenges for emergency management. Dr. Belligoni studies the meteorological dynamics of Atlantic tropical storms, particularly…

David Dumke serves as the Executive Director of UCF Global Perspectives & International Initiatives. His responsibilities include overseeing all the programs and centers under the Global Perspectives umbrella, working with faculty, departments, and colleges to identify international opportunities, and establishing international partnerships which support academic programs, dialog, and collaborative research.

Karen Solla is the Administrative Assistant for the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives, and works in partnership with the Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery.  Previously, she was the Membership Assistant for WUCF TV and FM, the local PBS and Jazz radio stations, where she coordinated fundraising support as…

Fernando I. Rivera, Ph.D. serves as the founding Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub. He is Professor of Sociology, and is already leading the way with work in the fields of medical sociology/sociology of health, race and ethnicity and the sociology of disasters. Rivera has been studying the movement of Puerto Ricans to the…