Barbara Ryan has been researching and studying disaster and crisis behaviour since 2008. Her PhD examined how people look for information when their community is in the response phase of a disaster. In 2018, she designed and implemented research for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to find out preparedness levels of Toowoomba escarpment residents for bushfire and storm, and their understanding of bushfire preparedness engagement activities. She was a founding director of Emergency Media and Public Affairs, a knowledge-sharing organisation for agencies and researchers in the communication/engagement fields and she teaches in what is believed to be the world’s first university qualification in emergency communication at the University of Southern Queensland. She teaches crisis communication, disaster communication, change communication and community engagement. She is also an experienced public relations practitioner, having worked in-house in mining, education and local government, and in a top five PR consultancy in Brisbane. While at Toowoomba City Council, she was was a member of the local disaster management group, and on leaving Council to start work at USQ, she became the volunteer media and communication co-ordinator for Toowoomba Disaster Management Group. She is currently volunteer community educator with Hampton Rural Fire Brigade in Queensland.
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