Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA, is a senior lecturer in the Jeb E Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University with additional collaborations as a faculty fellow at  Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and  Einhorn Center for Community Engagement and as a faculty associate at Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. Morgenstern Brenner is co-lead for FEMA’s Higher Education Service-Learning and Leadership Special Interest Group.

Morgenstern Brenner teaches courses on environmental policy, environmental justice, vulnerability and resilience, disaster policy, and project management. Her research and practice focus on translating values into practice and policy and working with communities to reduce vulnerability and build resilience. To do this, Morgenstern Brenner collaborates with international and domestic partners to create innovative approaches that address and improve social and environmental conditions. Her current research and practice include managed retreat and equity, environmental justice, bridging policy with science, climate change education, and building disaster resilience with vulnerable communities.

Morgenstern Brenner is a co-principal investigator on grants through Atkinson Center, including a partnership with The Nature Conservancy to investigate managed flood retreats focusing on how equity and restoration intersect. Another grant is a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund to assess and understand flooding policy and the implications of buyouts with cooperative housing. The third grant is an Atkinson Academic Venture Fund, a community-based project focusing on equity and illegal dumping in Flint, Michigan.