PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
Contreras, S., Cannon, C.E.B., & Barajas, J. Beyond Research Delays: Science funding disruptions limit community participation in climate and infrastructure planning. npj Urban Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00374-5 (in press).
Contreras, S., Ortiz, Z., Maysonet, T., Gilliam, R., Dean, M., Babboni, M., & Vega, K. Building urban resilience with “just” trees: addressing community interests within urban forestry planning in South Los Angeles. Journal of the American Planning Association, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2025.2604127
Contreras, S., Witkowski, K., Perodin, J.,* Remington, C., Headley, A., & Ganapati, E. First Responder Ladder of Community Engagement: Understanding Community Facing Activities During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Urban Affairs, 48(2), 662-684. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2024.2410277
Headley, A., Witkowski, K., Remington, C., Ganapati, E., & Contreras, S. Trauma-Informed Organizational Climate and its Impact on Burnout in First Response Agencies during COVID-19. Public Administration Review, 85(1), 144-164. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13764
Baker, J., Crowley, H., Wald, D., Rathje, E., Au, S.-K., Bradley, B., Burton, H., Cabas, A., Cattari, S., Cauzzi, C., Cavalieri, F., Contreras, S., Costa, R., Eguchi, R., Lallemant, D., Lignos, D., Maurer, B., Molina Hutt, C., Sextos, A., Seyhan, E., Sucuoğlu, H., Taciroglu, E., Silva, V., & Thompson, E. Sharing data and code facilitates reproducible and impactful research. Earthquake Spectra, 40:2210-2218. https://doi.org/10.1177/87552930241259397
Witkowski, K., Contreras, S., Remington, C., Headley, A., & Ganapati, E. Organizational Resilience in First-Response Agencies: Visual Responses from First Responders during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 107, 104467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104467
Witkowski, K., Lofaro, R., Headley, A., Contreras, S., Remington, C., & Ganapati, E. Understanding Problematic Substance Use Among First Responders During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMS Workers in the United States. International Journal of Drug Policy, 123, 1044261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104261
Seyedrezaei, M.,* Becerik-Gerber, B., Awada, M., Contreras, S., & Boeing, G. Equity in the Built Environment: A Systematic Review. Building and Environment, 245, 110827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110827
Remington, C., Witkowski, K., Ganapati, E., Headley, A., & Contreras, S. First Responders and the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Organizational Strategies Can Promote Workforce Retention. American Review of Public Administration, 54(1), 33-56. https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740231192968
Cabas, A., Lorenzo-Velazquez, C., Abayo, N., Ji, C., Ramirez, J., Garcia, F., Perodin, J.,* Hwang, Y., Dashti, S., Ganapati, N., Nicolas, S., Whitwirth, M., Guerrier, K., Saint Fleur, N., Contreras, S., Lagesse, R., Marcelin, L., & Remington, C. Intersectional Impacts of the 2021 Mw 7.2 Nippes, Haiti Earthquake from Geotechnical and Social Perspectives. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 113(1), 73-98. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120220118
Headley, A., Remington, C., Witkowski, K., Contreras, S., & Ganapati, E. The Impact of COVID-19 on First Responders in the United States. International Journal of Emergency Services, 12(2), 243-251. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJES-12-2022-0071
Niles, S.,* Roudbari, S., Contreras, S. Neoliberal Multiculturalism and Changing Colonial Racial Hierarchies in International Development. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 10(2), 249-263. https://doi.org/10.1177/23326492231214450
Contreras, S., & Niles, S.* Building Resilience through Informal Networks and Community Knowledge Sharing: Post-disaster Health Service Delivery after Hurricane Maria. Environmental Hazards, 21(5), 433-452. https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2022.2049191
Contreras, S., & Roudbari, S. Who’s learning from whom? Grassroots International NGOs learning from communities in development projects. Development in Practice, 32(5), 569-582. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2021.1937554
Niles, S.,* Roudbari, S., & Contreras, S. Integrating Social Justice and Political Engagement into Engineering. International Journal of Engineering, Social Justice, and Peace, 7(1), 52-64. https://doi.org/10.24908/ijesjp.v7i1.13568
Niles, S.,* Contreras, S., Roudbari, S., Kaminsky, J., & Harrison, J. Resisting and Assisting Engagement with Public Welfare in Engineering Education. Journal of Engineering Education, 109(3), 491-507. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20323
Goodrich, K., Sanders, B., Basolo, V., Feldman, D., Matthew, R., Schubert, J., Luke, A., Eguiarte, A., Boudreau, D., Serrano, K., Reyes, A., Contreras, S., Houston, D., Cheung, W., AghaKouchak, A., & Sanders, B. Addressing Pluvial Flash Flooding through Community-Based Collaborative Research in Tijuana, Mexico. Water, 12(5), 1257. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051257
Sanders, B., Schubert, J., Goodrich, K., Houston, D., Feldman, D., Basolo, V., Luke, A. Boudreau, D., Karlin, B., Cheung, W., Contreras, S., Reyes, A., Eguiarte, A., Serrano, K., Allaire, M., Moftakhari, H., AghaKouchak, A., & Matthew, R. Collaborative Modeling with Fine Resolution Data Enhances Flood Awareness, Minimizes Differences in Flood Perception, and Produces Actionable Flood Maps. Earth’s Future, 7, e2019EF001391. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EF001391
Contreras, S., Niles, S.,* Roudbari, S., Harrison, J., & Kaminsky, J. Bridging the Praxis of Hazards and Development with Resilience: A Case Study of an Engineering Education Program. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 42, 101347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101347
Contreras, S. Using Arnstein’s Ladder as an Evaluative Framework for the Assessment of Participatory Work in Post-disaster Haiti. Journal of the American Planning Association, 85(3), 219-235. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2019.1618728
Houston, D., Cheung, W., Basolo, V., Feldman, D., Matthew, R., Sanders, B., Karlin, B., Schubert, J., Goodrich, K., Contreras, S., & Luke, A. The Influence of Hazard Maps and Trust of Flood Controls on Coastal Flood Spatial Awareness and Risk Perception. Environment and Behavior, 51(4), 347-375. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916517748711
Feldman, D., Contreras, S., Karlin, B., Basolo, V., Matthew, R., Sanders, B., Houston, D., Cheung, W., Goodrich, K., Reyes, A., Serrano, K., Schubert, J., & Luke, A. Communicating Flood Risk: Looking Back and Forward at Traditional and Social Media Outlets. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 15, 43-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.12.004
Cheung, W., Houston, D., Schubert, J., Basolo, V., Feldman, D., Matthew, R., Sanders, B., Karlin, B., Goodrich, K., Contreras, S., & Luke, A. Integrating Resident Digital Sketch Maps with Expert Knowledge to Assess Spatial Knowledge of Flood Risk: A Case Study of Participatory Mapping in Newport Beach, California. Applied Geography, 74, 56-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.07.006
BOOK CHAPTERS
Contreras, S., Lorenzo Pérez, M.,* & Jaramillo Nieves, L. “Decolonizing Resilience: Learning from Unexplored Stories and Perspectives Surrounding Hazard and Disaster Risks in Puerto Rico.” In: Decolonizing Planning: Power and Knowledge in the Informal City, edited by B. Sletto, T. Winkler and E. Huq. Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035319978
TECHNICAL REPORTS
Contreras, S., Siegel, M.,* Ton, S.,* Monder, C., Dean, M. Aligning Infrastructure Investments with Impact: A Scorecard for Multi-Benefit, Community-Focused Infrastructure in Los Angeles County. USC Dornsife Public Exchange. Available at: public-exchange.org/usc/project/infrastructure
Contreras, S., Heschmeyer, D.,* Siegel, M.,* Dean, M., Monder, C., Faustinos, B., Gardner, M. Building Better Together: Applying a Multi-Benefit Framework to LA County Infrastructure Projects. USC Dornsife Public Exchange. Available at: https://publicexchange.usc.edu/la-infrastructure/
Contreras, S., Heschmeyer, D.,* Dean, M., Monder, C., Faustinos, B., Gardner, M., & Siegel, M.* Building for Impact: A Framework for Evaluating Multi-Benefit and Community-Engaged Infrastructure Projects Under Existing Policy in Los Angeles County. USC Dornsife Public Exchange. Available at: https://publicexchange.usc.edu/la-infrastructure/
Contreras, S., Ortiz, Z.,* Dean, M., Babboni, M., Vega, K., Maysonet, T., & Gilliam, R. Rooted Connections: Understanding South Los Angeles Community Leaders' Relationship to the Urban Forest. USC Dornsife Public Exchange. Available at: https://publicexchange.usc.edu/south-la-trees/
Burke, R., Contreras, S., Anderson, A.,* Yeager, A., & Borgatti J. How Rural Contexts Shape Disaster Recovery: Children and Families After the 2020 Slater Fire. Natural Hazards Center Public Health Disaster Research Report Series. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. Available at: https://hazards.colorado.edu/public-health-disaster-research/how-rural-contexts-shape-disaster-recovery
Chandrasekhar, D., Finn, D., Contreras, S., Isaba, T.* Land Use Based Wildfire Adaptations in Unincorporated Communities. Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Grant Report Series, 361. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. Available at: https://hazards.colorado.edu/quick-response-report/land-use-adaptations-to-wildfire-in-unincorporated-communities-in-colorado
Bales, R., McKuin, B., Harris, J., Raj, R., Contreras, S., Craig, R., Wooley, D., Feldman, D., Forrest, K., Gim, C., Tarroja, B., Owen, D., Dean, M., Gallai, D., Ignon, L., Messer, D., Monder, C., Wald, R., & Weber, K. California Solar Canal Initiative. Workshop Report: Roadmap to Implementation. USC Dornsife Public Exchange.
Lorenzo Pérez, M.,* & Contreras, S. Understanding the Impacts of Managed Retreat and Resettlement on Informal Communities. Natural Hazards Center Mitigation Matters Grant Report Series, 8. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. Available at: https://hazards.colorado.edu/mitigation-matters-report/understanding-the-impacts-of-managed-retreat-and-resettlement-on-informal-communities
Dashti, S., Ganapati, E., Abayo, N., Cabas, A., Calderon, J., Contreras, S., Dessable, J., Garcia, E., Guerrier, K., Hwang, Y., Jeannot, T., Ji, C., Lagesse, R., Logiste, M., Lorenzo-Velazquez, C., Nicolas, S., Remington, C., Perodin, J.,* Saint Fleur, N., Shirro, M., Vissiere, S., & Whitworth, M. Reconnaissance Following the August 14, 2021 Haiti Earthquake: Perspectives from Geotechnical Engineering and Social/Political Sciences. Geotechnical Extreme Reconnaissance (GEER) Report No. 073. Available at: https://doi.org/10.18118/G60090
Headley, A., Remington, C., Witkowski, K., Contreras, S., & Ganapati, E. Reprioritizing Responsibilities: Examining How Colliding Epidemics Impact First Responders. Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University. Available at: https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/sites/default/files/2021-12/Reprioritizing%20Responsibilities_Andrea%20Headly%20et%20all_exec-summary.pdf
Niles, S.,* & Contreras, S. Social Vulnerability and the Role of Puerto Rico’s Healthcare Workers after Hurricane Maria. Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Grant Report Series, 288. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. Available at: https://hazards.colorado.edu/quick-response-report/social-vulnerability-and-the-role-of-puerto-ricos-healthcare-workers-after-hurricane-maria
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Burke, R., & Contreras, S. Schools and communities can help children bounce back after distressing disasters like the LA wildfires. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.q4vtddqvr
Contreras, S., Campbell, J., Tang, X., & Duke, T. Regenerative Cultures and Resilient Communities (RCx2). Community Engagement Conference: Partnering for a Resilient and Sustainable Future. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University. Available at: https://kb.osu.edu/items/d807d7c6-56ac-49c4-84a9-4b04a2189caa
Niles, S.,* & Contreras, S. Capitalism, Colonialism, Crisis and Care: The Response of Health Care Workers after Hurricane Maria. 9th International i-Rec (information and research for reconstruction) Conference. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. Available at: http://www.grif.umontreal.ca/i-rec/i-Rec2019/i-Rec-2019_program.pdf