Regardt “Reggie” Ferreira, PhD
DRLA Director, Professor
He/Him
Biography
Regardt (Reggie) Ferreira, PhD, is Director of Tulane University's Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy and Executive Director of the Consortium for Equitable Disaster Resilience. He is also a full professor (tenured) of social work at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Dr. Ferreira earned his BSW and master’s degree in Disaster Risk Management (cum laude) from the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and his Ph.D. in Social Work (Dean citation) from the University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky. Since joining Tulane University’s faculty in 2013, his responsibilities have spanned administration, research, program development, and teaching. Dr. Ferreira is the Chief Editor of the American Psychological Association’s Traumatology journal, which has an impact factor of 3.2 and focuses on resilience practices among traumatized populations. He has been an active member of several national advisory committees, including those for the National Academies of Science, FEMA, Global Resilience Partnership, and the American Red Cross.
Dr. Ferreira’s primary research interests lie in the areas of disaster resilience, climate change, and behavioral health, with field work extending across Europe, Africa, North America, the Caribbean, and South Asia. Over the past two decades, he has led initiatives totaling over $44 million in federal and foundation funding, contributing to significant advancements in disaster risk reduction and resilience. His scholarly output includes over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and abstracts addressing resilience, climate change, equity, and trauma.
Recognized for his pedagogical contributions, Dr. Ferreira has received multiple awards for his teaching. He played a key role in the development and launch of Tulane’s Doctor of Social Work and the MS-Disaster Resilience Leadership program. Prominent media outlets such as CNN, Rolling Stone, Voice of America, HBO/VICE, The Atlantic, Fox, Fox News, NBC, NBC News, CBS, ABC, Reuters, Medscape, NPR, Futurity, ScienceDaily, USA Today, Inside Climate News, Globo, and Psychology Today have featured his work. A native of Bloemfontein, South Africa, Dr. Ferreira is an avid outdoors enthusiast.
Areas of Expertise
- Behavioral Health
- Climate Change and Mental Health
- Community Organizing and Advocacy
- Disaster Mental Health
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Global Health Care
- International Social Work
- Intimate Partner Violence / Sexual Violence
- Macro Social Work and Community Development
- Program Development and Evaluation
- Resilience
Education
- BSW in Social Work at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa
- Masters degree in Disaster Risk Management at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa
- Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Louisville
Highlights, Honors & Awards
Teaching:
Tulane School of Social Work – Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy Outstanding Faculty Award 2021-2022
Tulane School of Social Work - Outstanding Faculty Award 2017. Tulane School of Social Work. Tulane University. (2017).
Tulane School of Social Work - Outstanding Faculty Award 2014. Tulane School of Social Work. Tulane University. (2014).
Dr. Jef Frank Award for Outstanding Teaching 2012. Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville.
Faculty Favorite 2011-2012 Award. Recognition to faculty that makes a significant difference in student learning and intellectual growth, University of Louisville (2012).
Community Service:
American Red Cross. (2021). Executive Stamp of Approval Award for Service.
American Red Cross. (2020). Stamp of Approval Award for Service.
Engineering Excellence Award. (2016). American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Part of Center for Hazards Research Team, University of Louisville. Resilience Innovation.
Selected Publications
2024-2026, Principal Investigator, Consortium for Equitable Disaster Resilience – Systems Change Individual and Household Program ($550,000), Walmart Foundation.
2022-2023, Principal Investigator, Consortium for Equitable Disaster Resilience ($750,000), Walmart Foundation.
2022-2024, Co-Principal Investigator Project RETAIN ($2,280,000), HRSA. Co-Principal Investigator: Tonya Hansel.
2022-2023, Principal Investigator, Equitable Disaster Resilience ($25,000), Global Resilience Partnership.
2015-2020, Lead Research Scientist & Co-Principal Investigator of Education and Community Engagement, Consortium for Resilient Gulf Communities ($8,500,000), GOMRI. Co-Principal Investigator: Melissa Finucane.
2015-2017, Educational Liaison, Disaster Resilience Leadership Program ($3,500,000), Gates Foundation. Co-Principal Investigator: Ky Luu.
2015-2018, Co-PI, Strengthening Rwandan Social Service Workforce ($385,000), UNICEF. Co-Principal Investigator: Laura Haas.
2015-2016, Educational Liaison, Resilient African Network ($25,000,000), USAID. Principal Investigator: Ky Luu.
Selected News & Media
“Day Zero” looms over Cape Town. (2018). CNN.
How the Mental Health Community is Bracing for the Impact of Climate Change. (2019). Rolling Stone.
The impact of climate change on mental health goes beyond anxiety (2021). Living Well.
Earth Day Angst: Young people cope with sense of urgency, hopelessness about climate change. (2022). VOICE OF AMERICA.
5 years on, failures from Hurricane Maria loom large as Puerto Rico responds to Fiona. (2022). NPR.
New Orleans communities prepare for climate change. (2023). NBC News.
Destruída por inundações do furacão Katrina, Nova Orleans traz lições de reconstrução para o RS. (2024). Globo News.
Selected Funding
Ferreira, R.J., Davidson, T., Buttell, F., Contillo, C. M., Leddie, C., Leahy, C., Nuñez-Dune, C., Lentz, B., Simkins, M., Jerolleman, A., Eide, C., Glaude, M. W., Thomas, J., Leiva, D., Awbrey, M. L., & Friedman, R. (2024). Barriers to equitable disaster recovery in the United States: A scoping literature review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.
Ferreira, R.J. & Ferreira, S.B. (2024). Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-Being of Populations Exposed to Climate Change. International Handbook of Social Work and Disaster Practice. Routledge.
Ferreira, R.J, Cannon, C.E.B., Buttell, F, & Davidson, T. (2023). “Explaining disaster and pandemic preparedness at the nexus of personal resilience and social vulnerability: An exploratory study”. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.
Ferreira, R.J. & Buttell, F.B. (2022). “A Global South Perspective: The Intersection of COVID-19 and Intimate Partner Violence” American Journal of Public Health.
Cannon, C.E.B., Ferreira, R.J, Buttell, F., & Jarquin, F. (2022). “Assessing explanatory variables of perceived stress to the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for future pandemics.” Journal of Risk Research.
Cannon, C.E.B., Ferreira, R.J., Buttell, F., & O’Connor, A., (2022). “Disaster’s Disparate Impacts: Analyzing perceived stress and personal resilience across sex and race." Disasters.
Ferreira, R.J., Buttell, F.B., Cannon, C. (2020). COVID-19: Immediate Predictors of individual resilience. Sustainability. 12:16, 1-11.
Liddell, J.L., Saltzman, L. Y., Ferreira, R.J., & Lesen, A. E. (2019). Cumulative disaster exposure, gender and the PADM. Progress in Disaster Science, 5, 1-7.
Ferreira, R.J., Buttell, F., & Cannon, C. (2018). Ethical Issues in Conducting Research with Children and Families Affected by Disasters. Current Psychiatry Reports. 20:42.
Ferreira, R.J., Buttell F. & Ferreira, S. B. (2015). Ethical considerations for conducting disaster research with vulnerable populations. Journal of Social Work Ethics and Values. 3, 379-384.
Community Involvement
Editor, Traumatology journal
Program Director, Consortium for Equitable Disaster Resilience
