Santina Contreras

Dr. Santina Contreras is an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern Policy. She holds a BS and MS in Structural Engineering from UC San Diego and UC Berkeley, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Planning, Policy, and Design from UC Irvine. Prior to USC, she served as an Assistant Professor at Ohio State University and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Her research focuses on environmental hazards, international development, and community engagement planning, particularly in vulnerable communities across the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. She employs interdisciplinary approaches to examine relationships between local communities and external stakeholders in contexts like natural hazard events and environmental planning projects.

Professional experience includes work in private and nonprofit sectors designing environmental planning and development projects in regions such as California, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Indonesia. She is affiliated with the Center of Excellence for Housing & Community Development Policy Research and listed as an investigator in the HCDPR Team.