Sarah Seiler ’25 (GSLC, PhD) presented her doctoral research on psychological safety and belonging in search and rescue at the prestigious international 2026 Iceland Search and Rescue Conference, which took place October 16-18, 2026, in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Seiler, who has more than 30 years of experience in high-risk environments, including emergency nursing, disaster preparedness, fire service, and wilderness search and rescue, has dedicated her career to strengthening leadership, collaboration, and safety in high-stakes settings. Her doctoral research examined how gender, team structures, orientation practices, and leadership influence psychological safety and organizational belonging among volunteer wilderness search and rescue teams.
At the conference, Seiler co-led a workshop with her mentor and dissertation committee member, Scott Hammond, PhD. Their workshop, “Stress Injury Prevention: How Building a Better Team Can Reduce Exposure to PTSI,” brought together Icelandic search and rescue professionals and international participants to explore how leadership, psychological safety, organizational belonging, and team culture can strengthen resilience and potentially reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress injury.
“It is incredibly rewarding to see my doctoral research move beyond the dissertation and into practical applications that can make a difference for teams working in high-risk environments,” said Seiler.
Her research offered practical recommendations for building trust, encouraging team learning, and fostering a sense of belonging in organizations operating under challenging conditions.
Read Seiler’s dissertation, Psychological Safety and Belonging in High-Risk Search and Rescue Teams: A Mixed-Methods Study.
