​Melissa Jurist is a Masters Student in Disaster Science and Management. She received her BA from New York University in Psychology (emphasis on Developmental Psychology). Her professional career includes working as the Assistant Director of Research for Sesame Workshop (creators of “Sesame Street”) and academic research management. Among the projects on which Ms. Jurist has worked: Nationwide Evaluation of Hands-on Science Inquiry (National Science Foundation), Statewide Evaluation for Special Education Programs in Title 1 Schools (Project Director). She currently works as the Academic Program Manager for UD K-12 Engineering, the outreach office for the College of Engineering, at UD, working to increase the diversity of the engineering pipeline. She is interested in: preparedness for families and children, children living with disability and disaster risk reduction.