Laurie Pearce's current research is focused on the impacts of disasters on evacuated households, particularly those impacting Indigenous communities; on the evaluation of provincial governments’ initial response to COVID-19; and on the psychosocial impacts of disasters on first responders. She is well-known in the disaster management community as a practitioner, an educator and a researcher. She was the Research Chair at the Justice Institute of British Columbia, managing the SIMTEC project which focused on developing strategies to support first responders working in Emergency Operations Centres. Her doctoral work was based on the development of a community-based hazard, impact, risk and vulnerability model.
Recently, Pearce has extended her research interests into the implementation of amphibious retrofitting construction of homes subject to repetitive flooding and managing stressors to COVID-19 in the health care field.
Experience
Pearce has taught in the Master of Arts in Disaster and Emergency Management program at Royal Roads University since its inception in 2007 and continues to teach in the Bachelor of Public Safety and Emergency Management program and the Critical Incident Management Certificate program at the Justice Institute of British Columbia, and in the certificate and diploma occupational health and safety program at the BC Institute of Technology.
She has been a member of Canada’s National Advisory Committee for Disaster Risk Reduction, a board member of the Emergency Preparedness for Industry and Commerce Council of BC, and currently sits on the BC Council of Disaster Psychosocial Services. She is often invited to speak at conferences in Canada and internationally, and is frequently interviewed in the Canadian media. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the by the Emergency Preparedness Conference/Pacific Northwest Preparedness Society.
Pearce also brings 31 years of experience in the Provincial Government, primarily in child protection, and maintains a strong sense of community, currently serving as the Secretary for the Woodlands, Sunshine and Cascades Ratepayers Society.
Education
2000
PhD
University of British Columbia
n.d.
Master of Arts
School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia
n.d.
Master of Social Work
University of British Columbia
n.d.
Registered Social Worke
BC College of Social Workers