Rene Marker-Katz is a graduate student at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) pursuing a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning (MCRP) with a specialization in land use and environmental planning. Her graduate degree will be accompanied by a certification in a Natural Hazards Resilience offered through the Department of City and Regional Planning. She is currently working as a Research Associate with the UNC Water Institute Re-Energize DR3 team to strengthen the relationship between governance and private/public entities to better support vulnerable community groups through climate-related disasters.

In 2020 she earned a B.A. in Anthropology from University of New Orleans (UNO), where her interest grew in the adaptive capabilities of highly exposed urban populations that are the most susceptible to climate-related hazards. While attending UNO, Rene was a Research Associate under the Anthropology Department Chair, analyzing food scarcity during COVID-19 and the impact of compounded exposures through environmental-related disasters. These findings have furthered her understanding for creating stronger policy processes to alleviate the detrimental impacts that disaster plays on vulnerable populations. Rene’s specialized interests are in hazard adaptation, urban sustainability practices, and equity within public policy.