Maria K. Watson

Maria Watson has degrees in Urban Planning from Ohio State University and Texas A&M University and is currently a research assistant professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. She conducts research through the Hazard Reduction Recovery Center and The Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Watson has been a part of multiple interdisciplinary and longitudinal research projects, most notably in Galveston County, TX after Hurricane Ike and Lumberton, NC after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. She uses quasi-experimental design, organizational theory, and survey methods to understand small business resilience and the role of disaster assistance programs in community recovery.