Dr. Kaleigh Yost is the L. Robert and Mary L. Kimball Early Career Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Her expertise is site characterization and numerical methods for geotechnical hazard applications and she is particularly interested in how geohazard engineering research is implemented in policy and practice. She is passionate about reducing the impacts of natural hazards and building resilient communities. Kaleigh received her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, her M.S. from the University of Texas at Austin, and her B.S. from the University of Notre Dame. During her doctoral studies, she received the Institute of International Education Graduate International Research Experience (IIE-GIRE) fellowship to conduct research at Deltares, a research institute in the Netherlands. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Kaleigh worked as a geotechnical engineer in the Washington D.C. area, and contributed to over 15 international projects on four continents. Kaleigh is a registered professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Kaleigh serves as a co-chair for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Public Policy and Advocacy Committee and as a mentor for ARISE-US, a national chapter of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction ARISE National Networks. She is the recipient of the 2025 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Younger Member Award and serves on the board of the United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER).