Jennifer Scott, PhD, Named as a Finalist for $50 Million Gulf Futures Challenge Grant
November 05, 2025
BATON ROUGE, LA – Jennifer Scott, PhD, associate professor in the LSU School of Social Work, serves on a team recently named finalist for the $50 million Gulf Futures Challenge, a national grant competition by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program (NASEM) and Lever for Change.
In 2022, Together Louisiana and the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) launched Community Lighthouse, a network of trusted civic institutions with solar and battery-powered microgrids
and trained volunteers who provide reliable power, critical services and strong neighborhood
networks. These institutions and their volunteers are called “resilience hubs” and
are meant to support communities during power outages caused by hurricanes and other
disasters. 
Scott is a partner on the Community Lighthouse project team, supporting research to understand how Community Lighthouse affects social relationships and wellbeing, as well as its integration of group emotional resilience intervention for volunteers.
“I am thrilled to be part of such an innovative team that is committed to not only ensuring people have access to power during disasters - meaning access to life saving supports like cooling stations, food and water - but also to the everyday work of strengthening communities and to building stronger evidence to explain how all of that works,” Scott said.
There were 10 finalists named in the Gulf Futures Challenge. Each finalist will receive an initial project development grant of $300,000 and technical assistance to strengthen their proposals. After submitting revised applications, two finalists will be awarded $20 million each to implement their solutions. The remaining eight will be eligible for up to $875,000 in additional project development support.
Representing all five Gulf states, these 10 projects present creative visions for tackling the urgent challenges of energy security, environmental change, and community well-being, each through a distinct, locally grounded approach. The projects are united by a common goal of creating safer and more resilient communities where people in the Gulf can live, work and thrive.
The award from the Gulf Futures Challenge will allow the Community Lighthouse initiative to expand to 80 resilience hubs.
“Societies where people have stronger trust and in which people participate more actively in civic society do better when disaster strikes,” Scott said. “Better understanding of how our practices affect social trust and expand relationships will help us better understand actionable strategies we can take to improve everyday community health and wellbeing, and resilience to disaster.”
Scott’s research focuses on understanding how economic and political marginalization affect wellbeing and health. She has previously served as principal investigator on a $1 million NASEM grant titled “Reducing Disparities in Disaster-Related Mental Health Burden: Adapting a multi-level intervention to build community-based response.” Scott was also named a NASEM Early Career Research Fellow in the Gulf Research Program in 2022. Scott recently received the LSU Brij Mohan Distinguished Professor Award for serving as a model for the community by demonstrating a commitment to peace, equality and social justice.
About the LSU School of Social Work
The LSU School of Social Work (SSW) is a vibrant center of intellectual development
and knowledge generation, a leader in promoting and supporting diverse communities,
and an advocate for an integrated and inclusive model of social work, all within a
learning environment that supports best educational practices. The SSW offers Bachelor
of Science in Human Development and Family Science, Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
, Master of Science in Human Development and Family Science, Master of Social Work
(MSW), online MSW, and Social Work PhD. SSW is part of the College of Human Sciences
& Education.
Visit the School of Social Work website.
About the College of Human Sciences & Education
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education,
the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership
& Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration
schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age
four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12.
The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute,
the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social
Research & Evaluation Center. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards
in teaching, research, and service and aims to improve quality of life across the
lifespan.