Robin L. Ersing

Robin L. Ersing serves as Professor and School Director at the School of Public Affairs, University of South Florida. With a career rooted in nonprofit community organizing, she focuses on disaster resilience, community development, and social vulnerability in urban neighborhoods, particularly for marginalized populations including women and migrant farm workers.

Her educational background includes advanced degrees in social work and public affairs.

• PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo
• MSW (Master of Social Work)

Dr. Ersing's research examines disaster recovery processes through social network analysis, with emphasis on evacuation decision-making during hurricanes and resilience strategies for vulnerable groups. Her work bridges urban planning and social justice, exploring structural factors in neighborhood development and community-led recovery initiatives. International collaborations across Canada, Australia, Pakistan, India, and Taiwan inform her comparative studies on post-disaster rebuilding.

She has received recognition including the Distinguished PhD Alumni award from SUNY Buffalo.

• Distinguished PhD Alumni award from SUNY Buffalo

Dr. Ersing secured competitive grants including a federal HUD COPC grant for neighborhood asset development and National Science Foundation funding for hurricane evacuation studies. As founder of the Global Hazard Resilience through Opportunities for Women (GHROW) initiative, she leads international research documenting women's grassroots disaster risk reduction strategies. Her community partnerships with Florida nonprofits focus on leadership development and grantsmanship training.

She directs applied research projects in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties while teaching graduate courses in community-engaged planning methods and disaster-resilient development.