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Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy Mission

The Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy (DRLA) is dedicated to the systematic strengthening of global humanitarian leadership, a process that integrates education, research, and application – to achieve increased resilience in communities and individuals impacted by natural and manmade disasters. Such leadership is guided by the ethics of the Triple Bottom Line: Equity, Environment, and Economy.

The Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy is part of the Tulane School of Social Work. The DRLA's mission of strengthening leadership in communities to address root causes of vulnerability, such as chronic poverty and social inequality, is supported by the School of Social Work's dedication to teaching students about human diversity and the importance of promoting social and environmental justice. 

Although there are many graduate programs that focus on disaster and risk management, none of them specifically target the role and development of leadership and resilience in producing effective programs or outcomes, making the DRL Academic Program the first with such a dynamic and innovative focus.

The Disaster Resilience Leadership Science (DRLS) Graduate Degree Program is a broad-based, integrative, and evidence-based graduate program that addresses relationships among the physical environment, the built environment, the social, economic, and political institutions and processes that characterize communities that are vulnerable to disasters. The program applies the knowledge of the context of disasters to leadership that leads to more resilient and sustainable post-disaster communities. The purpose of the DRL Graduate Program is to prepare students for professional careers in: (a) communities that are affected by and vulnerable to disaster destruction and disruption; (b) organizations that focus on all phases of disaster management (preparedness, response, recovery, and risk reduction); and, (c) leadership and upper level management positions within organizations and communities that require strong leadership for the promotion of an increased level of resilience.