Kenny Hendrickson is currently a faculty research associate in the Eastern Caribbean Center (ECC) at the University of the Virgin Islands. He is also an Associate Professor of Public Administration and Social Sciences, and the Director of the Master of Public Administration Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of the Virgin Islands. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs from the University of Akron in Ohio. Dr. Hendrickson’s current research and publications have explored topics in public administration, leadership, burnout, STEM education, public health, caring, professional quality of life, public trust, along with disaster recovery, management and mitigation.
With regard to disaster research, Dr. Hendrickson’s efforts have focused on government and community capacity to implement disaster recovery actions. He was the primary investigator of a research project, entitled “Public Trust, Community Resilience, and Disaster Response in the U.S. Virgin Islands”. This project was funded by the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. The project examined the relationship between territorial public trust in public health emergency response (PHER) and community resilience. Dr. Hendrickson was part of an investigative team that completed a research project, entitled “Frontline Government Workers: Assessing Post-Disaster Burnout and Quality of Life”. This project was also funded by the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. The project examined the relationship between post-disaster burnout of US Virgin Islands frontline government employees and their professional quality of life. This project also received a continuation funding to develop and host a webinar geared to provide burnout recovery strategies to US Virgin Islands frontline government employees.