Jeannette Sutton, Ph.D., specializes in disaster and risk with a primary focus on online informal communication, and public alerts and warnings disseminated via short messaging channels. Much of her research investigates the evolving role of information and communication technology, including social media and mobile devices, for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Her current work centers on message design and testing across a range of hazard contexts including atmospheric, meteorological, geological, technological, biological, and human induced threats for communication via Wireless Emergency Alerts and other alerting channels. She is employed at the University at Albany, SUNY, as an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security where she directs the Emergency and Risk Communication Message Testing Lab. She is also the founder of The Warn Room, LLC (thewarnroom.com), which provides evidence-based advice on effective alert and warning messages.

Dr. Sutton has held numerous grants from the National Science Foundation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the US Department of Homeland Security, the United States Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Her research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Risk Analysis, Information, Communication, and Society; Health Communication; and the International Journal of Disaster Risk Research, the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, and Natural Hazards Review. Dr. Sutton holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and completed her postdoctoral training at the Natural Hazards Center.