Liza T. Powers, Ph.D.

Liza T Powers, Ph.D., is a Data Scientist at the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy from Texas Southern University and received her Master's in History from Stephen F. Austin State University and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from Stephen F. Austin State University. 

Her research interests are hazard mitigation/emergency-management, environmental history, and transportation planning. Her dissertation: “Mitigation Roadway Disasters in Extreme Flooding Events: A Critical Case Study of Flood Fatalities in Harris County, Texas," won the Best Dissertation Award at TSU in the Fall of 2021.Currently, she is researching community resistance to fossil fuel development, particularly Liquefied Natural Gas, and the respective environmental and climate justice issues created from this buildout.  She is also continuing her dissertation research on flood-related fatalities.  She also uses qualitative methods of digital storytelling and Story Mapping in her work.

Beyond her research, she serves as an adjunct professor for the History Department at Texas Southern University and has been a facilitator of the Community Environmental Leadership Program, held for grassroots Environmental Justice leaders in the Texas coastal communities. Dr. Powers is dedicated to bridging academia and community engagement, thereby fostering positive change through education and advocacy.