Bio

Jax Richards is a first-year PhD student in the Disaster Science and Management program. He holds five bachelor’s degrees—in Economics, Public Policy, Political Science, Speech Communication, and Sustainability Sciences—from Oregon State University, and earned his Master of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he concentrated on International Security Policy and Humanitarian Policy. His research focuses on child-centered disaster response systems, equitable access to pre-hospital emergency care, and improving intergovernmental coordination across all phases of crisis management.

Outside of academia, Jax brings profound cross-sector experience to his work, having held research, operational, and policy roles across the United Nations, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Oregon Senate, the New York City Fire Department, leading humanitarian nonprofits, and multiple research institutes. He is also a certified emergency medical technician and regularly volunteers with community-based emergency response teams. Most recently, Jax served as Project Manager for a research consultancy with the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, where he led the development of a multidimensional risk framework analyzing how climate shocks act as conflict multipliers across the Indo-Pacific.

Degrees

Master of Public Administration, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, 2025

Honors Bachelors of Science in Public Policy, Economics, Political Science, Speech Communication, and Sustainability Sciences, Oregon State University, 2023

​PhD Advisor

Dr. Tricia Wachtendorf