Kevin Vandenheuval

Research Assistant

Contact Information
Home Phone: 425-47-1448
E-mail: vandenk5@gmail.com

Kevin Vandenheuvel is a Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Planning (DREP) undergraduate student at Western Washington University, through Huxley College of the Environment. Kevin’s academic research focuses on community capacity and vulnerability analysis, and the development of risk reduction frameworks within informal settlements. In winter 2009, Kevin was part of a student collaborative that collected primary data through survey efforts in two Bellingham, Washington neighborhoods, from which a capacity and vulnerability assessment of Bellingham Urban Growth Areas was developed. In spring 2009, Kevin helped co-author a disaster risk reduction framework for informal settlements in Villa Nueva, Guatemala, by utilizing primary data collected on-site through the Resilience Institute.

Kevin has been an intern with the Resilience Institute since fall of 2009. Besides assisting with administrative and research tasks, Kevin has been working in conjunction with the Anthropology department and under graduate student advisement to craft grant proposals to the National Science Foundation.

Ultimately, Kevin wants to pursue a master’s program in disaster research, either through a sociological, political, or planning prospective, and on to a career in international disaster assistance and research. To this end, Kevin recognizes the need for facilitated dialogue amongst academia, policy-makers, and community members in the future to insure continued progress in sustainable practices.