Faculty Directory
Elizabeth Hausler
Professor of Practice
Contact Information
Coolbaugh Hall
Biography
Dr. Elizabeth Hausler is a Professor of Practice in the Futures program at Mines.
Dr. Hausler is a visionary global leader, educator and award-winning social innovator. She is the founder and former CEO of Build Change, an international non-profit that has transformed how housing is designed, financed, and constructed in lower income, disaster-prone regions around the world.
Elizabeth is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Construction. She won the University of California, Berkeley’s Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award in 2018. A distinguished alumna of UC-Berkeley, Elizabeth holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, an M.S. from the University of Colorado and a B.S. from University of Illinois. She is a Fulbright fellow and skilled brick mason.
Elizabeth is the first woman leader to win the five major awards for social entrepreneurship from Echoing Green, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Ashoka, the Schwab Foundation, and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Hausler has delivered over 120 lectures in 17 countries. She is the lead author, contributor, or editor of over 50 publications and safe housing resources. Dr. Hausler and Build Change’s work have been featured by leading media outlets, including The New York Times, BBC News, Forbes, Elle Magazine, ABC News, and Bloomberg Businessweek.
Education
- PhD, Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
- MS, Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
- MS, Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Denver
- BS, General Engineering, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
Research
Disaster-Resilient Housing Design, Construction, Financing, and Policy; Organizational Leadership; Systems Change; Construction Workforce Development; AI for Good; Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering; Post-Disaster Reconnaissance.
Publications
Editor: “Saving Embodied Carbon by Strengthening Existing Housing” Build Change, 2024
Editor: “The Power of a Housing Investment” Build Change Housing Microfinance Explainer Video, 2023
Lead Author: The Build Change Guide to Resilient Housing, Build Change, 2021
Contributor: “Resilience 21: Building a Nation of Resilient Communities.” Resilience recommendations prepared for and presented to the Biden-Harris US Administration. The Resilience 21 Coalition. Released January 26, 2021.
Lead Author: “Roadmap for Resilient Housing: The Path to Livable, Disaster and Pandemic Resilient Housing.” Draft for Comments Prepared by Build Change for The World Bank’s Global Program for Resilient Housing. May 20, 2020.
Hausler, Elizabeth; Moullier, Thomas; Barker, Louisa Helen; Collins, Michael; Dani, Saurabh. “Understanding and Engaging the Informal Sector for Resilient Housing Across the Caribbean” Understanding Risk, 2019.
“There’s No Place Like Home!” The World Bank. Podcast. Released April 18, 2019.
Triveno, L., Hausler, E.A., To build resilient cities, we must treat substandard housing as a life-or-death emergency. World Bank Blog, July 25, 2017.
Triveno, L., Hausler, E.A., A housing policy that could almost pay for itself? Think Retrofitting. World Bank Blog, June 7, 2017.
Contributor: Building Resilience in Nepal through Public-Private Partnerships, World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Risk & Resilience, London, October 16, 2015.
Hausler, E.A., What Latin America needs to know about earthquakes, World Economic Forum Blog, 2013.
Lead Author: Building Back Housing in Post-Disaster Situations – Basic Engineering Principles for Development Professionals, A Primer, US Agency for International Development, January 2012.
Hausler, E. A., Earthquake-Resistant Houses, MIT Innovations Journal: Build Back Better, Strategies for Societal Renewal in Haiti, 91-115. MIT Press, Volume 5, Issue 4, Fall 2010.
Hausler, E. A., Design and Construction of Confined Masonry Houses in Indonesia: Challenges, Performance in Earthquakes, and Need for Future Research, 2008.
Contributor: Security Rebuild Manual, Co-Published with Sichuan University, PR China, 2009.
Lead Author: You Can Keep Your Family Safe from Earthquakes: How to Build Strong and Sturdy Houses, Build Change Indonesia “Blue Book”, 2008.
Khazai, B. & Hausler, E. A., Intermediate Shelters in Bam and Permanent Shelters in the Villages following the Bam, Iran Earthquake, EERI Earthquake Spectra, 2005.
Hausler, E.A., Long-Term Change in Construction Practice Through Post-Earthquake Reconstructions, 1st International Conference on Urban Disaster Reduction, Kobe, Japan, January 2005.
Hausler, E. A., Housing Reconstruction and Retrofitting After the 2001 Kachchh, India Earthquake, 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, BC. Paper 1723. 2004.
Hausler, E. A. & Koelling, M., Performance of Improved Ground During the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake, Fifth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, New York, NY. April 13-17, 2004. Paper 3-27.
Speaking & Conferences
Distinguished Lectures and Keynotes
“Disaster-Resilient Housing Via Systems Change,” Newmark Distinguished Lecture, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, April 27, 2026. Flyer
Autodesk University Opening Main Stage Speaker, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 19, 2019 Video Link
“How to build safer housing after a disaster,” TED Talk, We the Future, New York City, September 25, 2018 Video Link
Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Luncheon, Keynote, Chevron Lecture Series, Colorado School of Mines, October 12, 2016 Link
“Disaster-Resilient Building and Economic Development in Emerging Nations,” Civil and Environmental Engineering, Minner Distinguished Lecture, University of California, Berkeley, October 5, 2015 Video Link
Commencement Addresses
University of San Francisco, College of Arts and Sciences, Commencement Speaker, May 18, 2024
University of California, Berkeley, College of Engineering Graduate Program, Commencement Speaker, Berkeley, CA, May 21, 2019
Panel Moderator and Interviewer Roles
“Let’s Make Housing its Own SDG” Build Change Advocacy Event, Host and Interviewer, UN Global Goals Week, New York City, September 25, 2024
Cities Summit of the Americas, Mayors Interviews for Build Change’s Resilient Housing Across the Americas Video Blog Series, April 2023
Build Change Housing Panel at Resilience Hub, COP26, Featuring Mayor of Istanbul and Wales Head of Clean Growth, Host and Moderator, Glasgow, Scotland, November 8, 2021
Build Change Guide to Resilient Housing Launch Event, Host, October 4, 2021
Government & World Bank
Government of Maldives and the World Bank, Maldives Resilient Housing Guide Launch, Invited Speaker, December 2, 2024
“Housing as Infrastructure in the United States,” Resilience 21 Coalition, Speaker, July 12, 2021
World Bank, Global Program for Resilient Housing Launch Event, Panelist, Washington, DC, October 3, 2018
Housing Finance
“Flipping the Narrative: The Other Side of Risk is Opportunity,” Americatalyst Going to Extremes: The Extreme Climate, Housing, and Finance Leadership Summit, Panelist, April 19, 2024
US National Low Income Housing Coalition, Disaster Housing Recovery Webinar, July 12, 2023
World Bank Global Affordable Housing Conference, Panelist, Washington, DC, June 2, 2023
“Investing in Climate Change Adaptation in Fragile Contexts,” World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Panelist, Davos, Switzerland, May 25, 2022
Inclusive Leadership
UN Observance of International Women’s Day 2019, Panelist, New York City, March 8, 2019
“Building an Inclusive Leadership Pipeline,” Panelist, Skoll World Forum, Oxford, England, April 9, 2018
AI & Technology
McKinsey Global Institute, Roundtable on AI, UN Global Goals Week, New York City, September 26, 2024
“AI for Human Rights,” Panelist, Skoll World Forum, Oxford, England, April 10, 2019
Awards & Honors
- National Academy of Engineering, 2025
- National Academy of Construction, 2024
- Forbes Impact List, 2023
- Global Engineering Outstanding Professional Award, University of Colorado, Boulder, Mortenson Center, 2019
- Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award, University of California, Berkeley, 2018
- Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2017
- Design Circle Honoree, Curry Stone Foundation, 2017
- Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni, University of California, Berkeley, 2014
- Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni Achievement Award, 2014
- Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability, 2011
- Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year, US, 2011
- Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow, 2009
- Tech Award, Technology Benefiting Humanity, Equality, 2008
- Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Fellow, 2006
- Echoing Green Fellow, 2004
- Fulbright Scholar to India, 2002
Affiliations
UC-Berkeley Master of Development Engineering Advisory Board, 2022 - Present
IFC Building Resilience Index, Technical Review Panel, 2020 – 2024
CENTER FOR GLOBAL DISASTER PROTECTION Expert Advisory Group, 2018 – 2020
IBM CALL FOR CODE COMPETITION Eminent Judge, 2019 – 2022
WORLD BANK GROUP Resilient Homes Challenge, Jury, 2018
World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Risk and Resilience, 2014 – 2015
US National Research Council Committee to Establish a Research Agenda for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation, 2002 – 2003