Dr Barb Ryan

Dr Barb Ryan is the founder of “Cicada Research and Communication” a company that specialises in how communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural hazards. Barb’s PHD thesis explored the concept of where people seek information in a natural disaster. She talks about the notion of informational and disinformation and the prominence of social media as a modern (and not always reliable) news source. The science tells us that as the planet warms, the incidence and severity of natural disaster is on the rise. Now more than ever, we need experts in their fields, such as Barb, to keep us informed.