Francisca Santana

  • Assistant Professor
  • John C. Garcia Professor
  • Visit Francisca's website

    • Francisca Santana

    • Assistant Professor
    • John C. Garcia Professor

    Research areas

    Dr. Francisca (“Kika”) Santana studies the social and psychological processes underpinning conservation and adaptation behavior. Her research investigates topics such as the social nature of wildfire smoke adaptation decisions in the U.S. West, coral reef conservation behavior in Hawaiʻi, and coastal community resilience and climate adaptation in southeastern Louisiana. She draws on theories and approaches from conservation and social psychology, environmental sociology, and human geography, while using multiple methods, such as surveys and semi-structured interviews. Her work is often community-engaged, and aims to co-produce science in partnership with local and Indigenous communities. She goes by her given name “Francisca” (pronounced fran-SIS-kah), and the nickname “Kika” (pronounced KEE-kah), a diminutive of Francisca from Mexican Spanish.

    B.A. History, Yale University
    M.S. Environmental Science and Management, Bren School, University of California Santa Barbara
    Ph.D. Environment and Resources, Stanford University

    Courses

    • ESRM 101 | Forests and Society (5) - Autumn
    • ESRM 371, ENVIR/SOC 379 | Environmental Sociology (5) - Winter
    • SEFS 504 | Social Science Methods (4) - Spring

    Current sponsored projects

    • Understanding behavioral adaptation to compound wildfire hazards through a multi-site case study in Northern California.

    Selected publications

    Santana, F. N., Herbert, N., & Wong-Parodi, G. (2024). Descriptive social norms, social support, and behavioral response to climate-related and co-occurring health hazards. Journal of Risk Research, 27(1), 138-165.

    Santana, F.N., Yurkanin, A., Stark, T.E., Lindsey, E., Ardoin, N.M., and Wong-Parodi, G. (2023). Mālama i ke kai: Exploring psychosocial factors associated with personal and community coral reef conservation behavior on Maui, Hawai‘i. Conservation Science and Practice, e13002. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2. 13002

    Santana, F.N., Gonzalez, D. J. X., and Wong-Parodi, G. (2021). Psychological factors and social processes influencing wildfire smoke protective behavior: Insights from a case study in Northern California. Climate Risk Management, 34, 100351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2021.100351

    Santana, F.N., Wagner, C.H., Berlin, N.R., Bloomfield, L.S.P., Bower, E.R., Fischer, S.L., Santos, B.S., Smith, G.E., Muraida, C.T., and Wong-Parodi, G. (2021). A path forward for qualitative research on sustainability in the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability Science, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00894-8

    Green, K.M., Selgrath, J., Frawley, T., Oestreich, W., Mansfield, E., Urteaga, J., Swanson, S., Santana, F.N., Green, S., Naggea, J., and Crowder, L.B. (2021). How adaptive capacity shapes the Adapt, React, Cope response to climate impacts: Insights from small-scale fisheries. Climatic Change, 164(15). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-02965-w

    Santana, F.N., Fischer, S.L., Jaeger, M.O., and Wong-Parodi, G. (2020). Responding to simultaneous crises: Communications and social norms of mask behavior during wildfires and COVID-19. Environmental Research Letters, 15(11), 111002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abba55