Porio, Emma E.

Dr. Emma Porio is Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, School of Social Sciences Ateneo de Manila University and Science Research Fellow, Manila Observatory. She chaired the Department of Sociology and Anthropology form 1996-2002 and from 2008-2014. Currently, she is President of the International Sociological Association (ISA)’s Clinical/Sociology Division (2019-2023) and of the Asia Pacific Sociological Association (2020-2023). She is also the Principal Editorial Adviser of the Environment and Urbanization (Asia Edition) and Review Editor of the Journal of the Cities of the Global South. Currently, she is Project Leader and Principal Investigator of the transdisciplinary action research project, Coastal Cities at Risk: Investing in Climate and Disaster Resilience in the Philippines (CCARPH), the flagship program of the Ateneo de Manila University for climate and disaster resilience. Creating the Master of Disaster Risk and Resilience (MDRR) in 2016, which she currently co-directs with the chair of the Environmental Science Program at the Ateneo de Manila University. In July 2021, the France-based agency, Eduniversal, rated MDRR as one of the best master programs in the Far East Asia, ranking 39^th in the area of environmental security, based on a survey of 150 countries.

Prof. Porio obtained her BA in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of San Carlos (Cebu City, Philippines, MA (Social Demography) and PhD (Sociology) from University of Hawaii with fellowships from the Population Institute, East West Center (Hawaii, USA). She has enjoyed research fellowships in Harvard University (2004; 2017) and Fulbright Advance Research Fellowship in Columbia University and Hofstra University in New York USA (2015).

She was president of the Philippine Sociological Society (1999-2002), the Philippine Social Science Council (2004-2006) and editor of the Philippine Sociological Review (1999-2000; 2004-2006)). She sat as chair of the Technical Panel for Sociology and Anthropology (1997-2007) in the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines Government. From 2006 to 2014, she served as member of the Executive Council of the International Sociological Association, chairing the task forces on Internal Democracy (2005-2010) and Early Career Sociologists (2010-2014).

Prof. Porio’s publications for the last 10 years focuses on vulnerability, adaptation and resilience to climate and disaster risks of marginalized peoples and the risk governance systems of cities and communities in the Global South. She currently sits in the Technical Working Group of the Office of Civil Defense and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and Panel of Experts of the National Research Council of the Philippines. She was Lead author in the Second Urban Climate Change Research Network Assessment (UCCRN, Earth Institute, Columbia University) that produced Climate Change and Cities (Cambridge Publishers, 2018). Currently, she is also Lead Author in the Third UCCRN Assessment (2018-2022). Recently, Prof. Porio has been inducted to the National Panel of Technical Experts (NPTE) of the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines.