Joy Semien

Founder/Director

L.E.E.D. with Joy

Joy Semien is the founder of L.E.E.D. With Joy LLC and a current doctoral candidate at Texas A & M University in the Urban and Regional Sciences program. She is also a research assistant for The Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A & M University where she oversees a research project on Organizational Impact and Recovery following compounded events.

Joy has a Bachelor of Science degree from Dillard University (2015) in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and she also holds a Masters’s Degree from Texas Southern University (2017) in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy. She is also a published author of several peer-reviewed articles and the book entitled “Hazard Mitigation Training for Vulnerable Communities.” Links to her work can be found here.

As a research scientist, her work explores the intersectionality of hazards, race, and environmental justice within marginalized communities. Through her work, she seeks to develop methodologies to turn research into action in an effort to bridge the gap between theory and practice.