Conservation social scientist Shorna Allred studies global sustainability, conservation and land use decision-making, community resilience, and environmental justice. “Natural disasters, like floods, hurricanes, and heat waves, disproportionately impact low-income communities because of the lack of infrastructure and historical investment in these communities,” Allred said. “We saw this pattern during Hurricane Katrina, during a polar freeze in Texas, and with Flint, Michigan’s water crisis – historical vulnerability and environmental issues cause compounding crises.” From Borneo to Binghamton, Allred facilitates community-based approaches to planning and management. These approaches seek for social equity, economic vitality, enhanced resilience, and improved sustainability. “Communities are not victims,” Allred said. “Communities and their leaders have agency and innovative and grounded solutions to address environmental injustices, so often we just need to recognize, acknowledge, and privilege the knowledge and lived experiences that these leaders bring to these issues.”