As California battles its deadliest wildfires in history, conservative figures are blaming diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for the devastation, despite overwhelming evidence pointing to climate change and natural factors.
The attacks, particularly on Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, distort her accomplishments and misrepresent the challenges faced by firefighters during this unprecedented crisis. Such rhetoric fuels division while distracting from the real solutions needed to address the state’s growing climate emergencies.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on misinformation surrounding the wildfires and the impact of DEI attacks. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact the GW Media Relations team at [email protected].
DEI Experts
Dr. Domonic A. Bearfield is a professor at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University. A well-known scholar of race, gender, and public sector personnel, his work has appeared in many of the field's leading journals. He is currently an editor at Public Administration Review and previously served as the forum editor at Administrative Theory and Praxis. He received his Ph.D. in Public Administration from Rutgers University-Newark. He also holds an M.P.A. from the University of Delaware and a B.A. in English from Norfolk State University.
Jasmine McGinnis Johnson is an Associate Professor in Public Administration and Public Policy at George Washington University. Jasmine's research interests broadly relate to the areas of the democratization of philanthropy, the diversity of philanthropy and nonprofits, and human resource issues in public and nonprofit organizations. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Jasmine worked in the nonprofit sector for several years as a development and evaluation senior manager.
Dr. Wendy Ellis is an Assistant Professor in Global Health and the Founding Director of the Center for Community Resilience at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. In 2024, she was appointed the Inaugural Director of the Institute for Racial, Ethnic and Socioeconomic Equity here at GW. The Equity Institute leverages the resources of a premier research university and invests in transformative community partnerships with the goal of eradicating racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequity worldwide.
Misinformation Experts
Neil Johnson, professor of physics, leads a new initiative in Complexity and Data Science which combines cross-disciplinary fundamental research with data science to attack complex real-world problems. He is an expert on how misinformation and hate speech spreads online and effective mitigation strategies. Johnson published new research this week that finds major events like presidential elections not only incites new hate content in online communities but also brings those communities closer together around online hate speech.
Ethan Porter is an associate professor of media and public affairs and of political science at GW. He holds appointments in the School of Media and Public Affairs and the Political Science Department and is the Cluster Lead of the Misinformation/Disinformation Lab at GW's Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, Political Communication and other journals.
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