About

Bethany Cutts is an Associate Professor at the College of Natural Resources, specializing in environmental justice, watershed governance, disaster resilience, urban greening, and coastal community recovery. Her research focuses on integrating watershed governance with disaster recovery efforts to address environmental justice challenges, particularly in coastal communities prone to disasters. She has conducted significant work on policy analysis, social network analytics, and community engagement to develop strategies that promote equitable and sustainable environmental management. Her projects include policy leadership and environmental justice during disaster recovery, urban greening efforts in diverse communities, energy data analytics for understanding energy poverty, and disaster preparedness in tourism-dependent coastal communities. Her work aims to produce policy-relevant knowledge that benefits disaster and environmental management, fosters community participation, and advances best practices in urban and coastal resilience. Bethany Cutts's contributions are characterized by a multidisciplinary approach that combines social science, environmental policy, and community-based research to address complex environmental and social issues.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Economics
• Geography
• Environmental planning
• Environmental resource management
• Computer Security
• Psychology
• Business
• Finance
• Public relations
• Ecology
• Engineering
• Epistemology
• Social psychology
• Engineering ethics
• Pedagogy
• Chemistry
• Environmental ethics
• Law
• Actuarial science
• Public economics

Selected publications

• Ally G’s Glow Mocktail & Harmful Bloom Drop-In: Paired Beverage Enhancements for Community Engagement related to Harmful Algae Blooms, Water and Health

  Figshare · 2026-03-31

  otherOpen access

  This paired demonstration includes (1) <i>Ally G’s Glow</i>, a visually vibrant, alcohol-free mocktail, and (2) the <i>Harmful Bloom Drop-In</i>, a drink additive designed to simulate the color, texture, and perceptual cues associated with harmful algal blooms (HABs). Although it can be dropped into any drink, we envision it opening discussions about liver health when dropped into alcoholic beverages. Together, these materials support community engagement by contrasting <b>safe, appealing water conditions</b> with <b>visibly altered and potentially risky conditions</b>, enabling participants to explore how environmental signals are perceived, interpreted, and acted upon. Sometimes the best community engagement is a little bit silly and a lot joyful.The drinks-based activities is designed to accompany outreach efforts that take pace over happy hours, snacks, or meals. This can include festival tabling, classroom demonstrations, workshops, and science communication workshops, or conferences for academics or water management professionals. It aligns with data democracy principles by emphasizing community observation, transparency in science-as-process, and the connection between lived experience and environmental decision-making. Users should always consult their venue regarding permissions to distribute materials and follow best practices and legal guidelines regarding food safety. They should not be sold commercially.

  PublisherDOI

• Guide to Strategic Wetlands

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The Guide to Strategic Wetlands <b>i</b>s a two-page brief that introduces a spatial planning tool for conservation and community resilience planning. The brief is designed to be a resource that helps non-profits, local governments, planners, and land owners identify where strategic wetland actions can most effectively reduce flood risk, protect public infrastructure, and support community resilience across eastern North Carolina and southern Virginia. Developed by NC State University in partnership with the Albemarle–Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP), the document presents a tool uses spatial prioritization to make opportunity and need visible. It's main aim is to support early-stage planning, cross-jurisdictional coordination, and competitive funding proposals for implementation actions. While the tool begins with wetlands and community resilience as a focused use case, it is designed as a flexible framework that can integrate additional regional planning priorities such as oysters, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and water quality to support Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) implementation. Includes a link to the beta version of the tool and an instructional user guide.

  PublisherDOI

• Guide to Strategic Wetlands

  Figshare · 2026-02-04

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The Guide to Strategic Wetlands <b>i</b>s a two-page brief that introduces a spatial planning tool for conservation and community resilience in high opportunity areas. The brief is designed to be a resource that helps non-profits, local governments, planners, and land owners identify where strategic wetland actions can most effectively reduce flood risk, protect public infrastructure, and support community resilience across eastern North Carolina and southern Virginia. Developed by NC State University in partnership with the Albemarle–Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP), the document presents a tool uses spatial prioritization to make opportunity and need visible. It's main aim is to support early-stage planning, cross-jurisdictional coordination, and competitive funding proposals for implementation actions. While the tool begins with wetlands and community resilience as a focused use case, it is designed as a flexible framework that can integrate additional regional planning priorities such as oysters, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and water quality to support Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) implementation. Includes a link to the beta version of the tool and an instructional user guide.

  PublisherDOI

• Ally G’s Glow Mocktail &amp; Harmful Bloom Drop-In: Paired Beverage Enhancements for Community Engagement related to Harmful Algae Blooms, Water and Health

  Figshare · 2026-03-31

  otherOpen access

  This paired demonstration includes (1) <i>Ally G’s Glow</i>, a visually vibrant, alcohol-free mocktail, and (2) the <i>Harmful Bloom Drop-In</i>, a drink additive designed to simulate the color, texture, and perceptual cues associated with harmful algal blooms (HABs). Although it can be dropped into any drink, we envision it opening discussions about liver health when dropped into alcoholic beverages. Together, these materials support community engagement by contrasting <b>safe, appealing water conditions</b> with <b>visibly altered and potentially risky conditions</b>, enabling participants to explore how environmental signals are perceived, interpreted, and acted upon. Sometimes the best community engagement is a little bit silly and a lot joyful.The drinks-based activities is designed to accompany outreach efforts that take pace over happy hours, snacks, or meals. This can include festival tabling, classroom demonstrations, workshops, and science communication workshops, or conferences for academics or water management professionals. It aligns with data democracy principles by emphasizing community observation, transparency in science-as-process, and the connection between lived experience and environmental decision-making. Users should always consult their venue regarding permissions to distribute materials and follow best practices and legal guidelines regarding food safety. They should not be sold commercially.

  PublisherDOI

• Guide to Strategic Wetlands

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The Guide to Strategic Wetlands <b>i</b>s a two-page brief that introduces a spatial planning tool for conservation and community resilience planning. The brief is designed to be a resource that helps non-profits, local governments, planners, and land owners identify where strategic wetland actions can most effectively reduce flood risk, protect public infrastructure, and support community resilience across eastern North Carolina and southern Virginia. Developed by NC State University in partnership with the Albemarle–Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP), the document presents a tool uses spatial prioritization to make opportunity and need visible. It's main aim is to support early-stage planning, cross-jurisdictional coordination, and competitive funding proposals for implementation actions. While the tool begins with wetlands and community resilience as a focused use case, it is designed as a flexible framework that can integrate additional regional planning priorities such as oysters, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and water quality to support Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) implementation. Includes a link to the beta version of the tool and an instructional user guide.

  PublisherDOI

• Guide to Strategic Wetlands

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The Guide to Strategic Wetlands <b>i</b>s a two-page brief that introduces a spatial planning tool for conservation and community resilience in high opportunity areas. The brief is designed to be a resource that helps non-profits, local governments, planners, and land owners identify where strategic wetland actions can most effectively reduce flood risk, protect public infrastructure, and support community resilience across eastern North Carolina and southern Virginia. Developed by NC State University in partnership with the Albemarle–Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP), the document presents a tool uses spatial prioritization to make opportunity and need visible. It's main aim is to support early-stage planning, cross-jurisdictional coordination, and competitive funding proposals for implementation actions. While the tool begins with wetlands and community resilience as a focused use case, it is designed as a flexible framework that can integrate additional regional planning priorities such as oysters, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and water quality to support Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) implementation. Includes a link to the beta version of the tool and an instructional user guide.

  PublisherDOI

• Social capital as a predictor of collective environmental action in high school students

  The Journal of Environmental Education · 2025-07-29

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Water security in North Carolina’s most economically insecure county: a case study

  Environmental Research Letters · 2025-01-02 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Negative health impacts of water insecurity are often felt most in poor and rural communities and communities of color, who are more likely to be underserved by water infrastructure and disproportionately subject to socioeconomic stressors. Despite mandated efforts to allocate significant federal resources to infrastructure funding in ‘disadvantaged communities,’ communities with the most need risk systematic exclusion from access to resources, decision-making structures, and even benefits of research intended to address inequitable infrastructure services and health outcomes in their own communities. This project aims to describe groundwork and preliminary findings from community-engaged environmental research conducted within an ongoing community-based participatory research partnership in Robeson County, NC, a majority–minority county with the lowest median household income of NC’s 100 counties. Semi-structured interviews conducted with community members were analyzed to identify concerns about drinking water security (including safety, affordability, and reliability), perceptions of water quality, averting behaviors taken due to water insecurity, and ideas for improving water security. Findings suggest that there is a high level of mistrust in community water supplies, with perceptions of poor water quality driving a reliance on bottled water. Those relying on private wells expressed greater trust in their water and lower reliance on bottled water. Concerns about affordability were less prominent than those about water quality. Insufficient water reliability (low flow) was mentioned by many respondents, including those with community water service and those relying on private wells. Most supported increasing taxes to improve water security and also recommended increasing communications between water service providers and the public to improve trust. Overall, this work suggests the need for a comprehensive assessment of the quality and reliability of community water services in Robeson County, interventions to address problems identified, and much more engagement with the community about identifying and allocating funding to solve water security problems.

  PublisherDOI

• <b>Changes to River Basin Planning Could Boost Disaster Resilience</b>

  Figshare · 2025-08-12

  otherOpen access

  Recommendations for River Basin Plan updates to strengthen disaster resilience, improve community engagement, and adopt a One Water Approach in North Carolina.<br>Updates: 2-26-26 adds doi to publication. <br>

  PublisherDOI

• Ally G Instructions (Social Media Science Communication Campaign) – #WhereIsAllyG

  Figshare · 2025-11-25

  otherOpen access

  Ally G is an open-resource community science ambassador. It is a simple craft project and social media character designed to make harmful algal bloom (HAB) science friendly, accessible, and fun. The Ally G Instructions Guide helps educators, families, and community partners create their own Ally G while raising awareness about water health, data democracy, and the many ways people can participate in science. Use #WhereIsAllyG to share your creation and join the campaign.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Olivia Vilá

  North Carolina State University

  20 shared

• Laura A. Bray

  University of Oklahoma

  14 shared

• Sallie McLean

  11 shared

• Louie Rivers

  North Carolina State University

  11 shared

• Hannah Goins

  University of Colorado Boulder

  11 shared

• Kaitlyn Hornik

  10 shared

• Nathan McMenamin

  North Carolina State University

  9 shared

• Angela Harris

  9 shared

Awards & honors

• JustWater: Policy Leadership And Environmental Justice Durin…
• Engaging Diverse Communities in Urban Greening Efforts: Less…
• Interdisciplinary Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Fellows Progra…
• Leveraging Tourism-Dependent Coastal Community Insights to D…