![Petrun Sayers](https://communication.ucf.edu/icrc2017/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2017/03/petrun_sayers_elizabeth.jpg)
Associate Behavioral and Social Scientist
RAND Corporation
United States
Elizabeth “Liz” L. Petrun Sayers, Ph.D. is an associate behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation in Arlington, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include risk, crisis, and science communication. Prior to joining RAND, Petrun Sayers worked as the associate director of the risk communication and resilience program for the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) located at the University of Maryland, College Park. Petrun Sayers has 10 years of experience working across the national security and health fields, and is currently conducting research for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition to research, she has taught a variety of communication courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Her work has been presented at national and international conferences, and she has most recently published in International Journal of Emergency Management, Journal of Risk Research, and Journal of Applied Communication Research. Other technical reports with project findings are available on www.rand.org. Petrun Sayers received her Ph.D. in communication from the University of Kentucky.