Jenna Tilt

Jenna Tilt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Oregon State University, affiliated with the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. Her research focuses on the human dimensions of natural hazards, equitable disaster recovery, and community resilience through participatory methods. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Social Sciences from the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources, along with a B.S. in Environmental History from Utah State University.

Her work bridges social science and environmental science, emphasizing co-production of knowledge with communities. Key research areas include wildfire recovery, coastal hazards adaptation, and the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. She leads projects funded by the National Science Foundation and Oregon Sea Grant, such as the Cascadia Coastlines Hazards Hub and Wildfire Vulnerability Explorer.

Dr. Tilt teaches courses on land use planning and resilient community design, both on-campus and online. She mentors postdoctoral scholars and graduate students in environmental sciences, geography, and anthropology, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to disaster resilience.

Her advising includes students like Joshua Applegate (Green Infrastructure) and Najiba Rashid (Coastal Resilience). She collaborates with diverse stakeholders through initiatives like the Global Transdisciplinary Wildfire Research Center and the Interactive Adaptation and Collaboration Tool (InterACTWEL).

Recent work explores Latinx communities’ coastal resilience strategies, floodplain risk perceptions, and machine learning applications for post-wildfire water contamination assessments. Her research emphasizes equitable adaptation pathways and trust-based decision frameworks in resource management.