Nicole Errett, from the University of Washington School of Public Health, received a 12-month, $50,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to study how state policies for disaster recovery planning promote health and well-being.
Errett, a lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, is among a select group of early career researchers chosen to receive a grant from New Connections, a national program that introduces new scholars to RWJF and expands the diversity of perspectives informing the Foundation’s programming.
“I am extremely proud to be among the researchers honored with this prestigious grant,” Errett says. “This award will connect me to a network of established experts in research and evaluation related to health and health care, while providing me with an opportunity to conduct a research study that has far-reaching implications for disaster recovery policy and planning.”
Errett will join a New Connections network of more than 900 scholars around the country. As part of her research, Errett will identify and analyze current state laws that authorize recovery programs and plans that guide their implementation. The goal is to characterize requirements for disaster recovery activities that enable health and well-being.
New Connections seeks early career scholars from backgrounds that are historically disadvantaged or underrepresented in research disciplines, such as individuals from ethnic or racial groups, first-generation college graduates and people from lower-income communities.
“We are so excited to welcome Nicole Errett into the eleventh cohort of New Connections grantees,” said Catherine Malone, a program officer at RWJF. “The program connects first-time grantees to the Foundation, and the new perspectives they bring are essential to solving the critical, complex issues affecting our nation’s health.”