Dulce M. Suarez

Dulce M. Suarez is a highly qualified professional with more than 10 years of experience in crisis and disaster management operations. At present, Mrs. Suarez serves as the Assistant Director of the Academy for International Disaster Preparedness at FIU. Prior to joining FIU, she served as the Interim Executive Director for a multimillion-dollar non-profit organization. During this time, she coordinated disaster response and recovery activities during several declared disasters including Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Matthew, and Haiti earthquake in 2010. She implemented and developed programs in disaster resiliency, humanitarian efforts, human rights advocacy, and strengthening civil society. She has forged strong partnerships and networks with ministries, NGOs, FBOs, donors and multinational agencies. In 2016, joined FIU and focused primarily on research, specifically hurricane mitigation as well as various projects with local and state level focus.

Mrs. Suarez holds a Master’s in International Studies from the University of Miami and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida in Political Science with a minor in History and Latin American Studies. She possesses several certifications, including but not limited to certified in CITT Program Certified- Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (Human Subjects Research), and certified by the United Nations Humanitarian Civil Military Assistance and Coordination. Mrs. Suarez is now pursuing a PhD in International Relations at FIU. Her major sub-fields are security, foreign policy and comparative studies.