I was inspired to join CADAN because I was interested in a) formalizing the relationships between practitioners and academics. I recently learned the term "pracademic" from fellow CADAN member Laura Olsen. I'm working on deserving that title! I was also interested in b) scaling up a study of institutional and bureaucratic disaster relief and DRR culture. Working in disaster areas forces academics to reckon more directly with research ethics and the commitment to engaged science. It was important for me, personally, to work with people who were committed to the pursuit of relevant science and science application, but who also believed in the importance of disaster theory to describe and understand the mechanics of disaster events. I feel like CADAN members may fall more heavily on one side of this scale or another, but that we all share a commitment to the theory and application of science - and all for the purposes of ultimately acting to relieve suffering. 

http://osucascades.edu/people/elizabeth-marino