Professor Xiao is an Associate Professor in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University (PSU). Before moving to PSU, she worked for Texas A&M University for nine years. The main area of her research deals with community resilience with a focus on local and regional economic sustainability and resiliency. Professor Yu Xiao strives to understand how local and regional economies adjust to uncertainties caused by demand and supply fluctuations or external shocks such as natural disasters.