Dr. Kim Galindo earned her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 2007 in the area of Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in Envrionmental Hazards, Vulnerability and Recovery. Upon graduation, she worked for FEMA Headquarters, Mitigation Grants Division. She is a Certified USA Federal Grants Manager, with experience in hazard mitigation, disaster planning, recovery, and research. After eight years in the Federal Government, Dr. Galindo decided to return to academia and her passion for internatinal development. Dr. Galindo became interested in culture and its affect on differential development at an early age due to her formative experiences in childhood. She obtained a visiting scholar position at Monterrey Technical University of Higher Learning in Mexico City. She currently works as a researcher in Multi-cultural communications at TAMU. She has worked in four different economic sectors, and is an experienced program developer, analyst, researcher, and supervisor, who has applied knowlege of cultural and inter-cultural communications issues to her work. Dr. Galindo is an accomplished education and training specialist with 13 years experience in conducting research, training courses and seminars in topics ranging from vulnerability reduction and natural hazard recovery studies to family and interpersonal dynamics. She is fluent In Spanish, Danish and French, and has worked, studied and lived abroad in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.