Paula Buchanan is a disaster scientist and an emergency management researcher. Her job is to help effectively communicate the science of emergencies and natural disasters so they can empower themselves to do something- for Paula, there is no point to science if it isn’t benefitting others. In this episode, we talked to Paula about pivoting from science to social science, or as her dad says, being a “degree collector.” She also shares advice about persevering and setting boundaries as a woman of color in STEM, and how important it is to “meet people where they are” when communicating science.