Dontá Council is an adviser on the Community and Economic Development team at the Atlanta Fed. His research focuses on the effects of natural hazards and disasters upon communities, particularly stressors and shocks to low-to-moderate-income communities.
Before joining the Atlanta Fed in 2020, Council spent over a decade working in the public and nonprofit sectors, focusing on research and community investment. In his previous role with the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama, he was responsible for grantmaking to nonprofits across seven counties and investing in nonprofit capacity-building efforts. He has worked on a variety of applied research and community-based projects to understand the experiences of households and community-based organizations affected by disasters.
Council holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a doctorate in public administration and policy from Old Dominion University; he earned his master’s in public administration from Jacksonville State University. Council has served on the faculties of American University and Howard University.
Articles
2024
Dontá Council and Grace Meagher. "Disaster Risks and Resilience Across the Southeast: Insights from Atlanta Fed Survey." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update, September 24, 2024.
Dontá Council, Grace Meagher, and Leah Cabrera. "Risk and Resilience: How Weather-Related Disasters Impact Economically Marginalized Communities." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Discussion Papers, June 18, 2024.
2023
Dontá Council, Charlene "Charly" van Dijk, and Grace Meagher. "Climate-Related Risks and Disasters: Implications for Financial Stability and Inclusion." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update, January 17, 2023.
2022
Sarah Stein, Dontá Council, and Grace Meagher. "Emergency Rental Assistance Insights from the Southeast." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update, September 2, 2022.
Sarah Stein, Dontá Council, and Grace Meagher. "Emergency Rental Assistance Insights from the Southeast." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update, September 2, 2022.
Dontá Council, Mary Hirt, and Julie Siwicki. "Household Financial Well-Being in the Southeast." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update, July 14, 2022.
Dontá Council, Grace Meagher, Janelle Williams, and Ann Carpenter. "Constraints to an Inclusive Recovery: Highlights from an Atlanta Fed Report." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update, February 17, 2022.
2021
Dontá Council, Ann Carpenter, and Janelle Williams. "Navigating a Crisis: An Uneven Recovery for Communities and Organizations in the Southeast." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Special Reports, December 2021.
Ann Carpenter, Dontá Council, and Jasmine Burnett. "Understanding How Community Resilience Can Inform Community Development in the Era of COVID
." In COVID-19: Systemic Risk and Resilience, 345–357. Cham, Switzerland: Springer (2021).
Blog Posts
2022
Scarlett Heinbuch and Dontá Council. "Vulnerable Populations and the Case for Cash." Take on Payments. May 23, 2022.
Other Publications
2022
Tyler, Jenna, Abdul-Akeen Sadiq, Dontá Council, and Douglas Noonan. "Floodplain Managers' Perceptions of Community Flood Concern, Mitigation, Preparedness, and Response in the United States." Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management (June 17, 2022).
2021
Dontá Council, Tihara Richardson, and Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf. "Key Elements of User Preferences for Flood Alerts and Implications for the Design and Development of Flood Alert or Warning Systems." In Communicating Climate Change, ed. Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, and Burton St. John III,116–132. London: Routledge (2021).
2020
Marina Saitgalina, and Dontá Council. "Contextualizing Performance of Coordinated Care Network of Veteran Services in Virginia." Journal of Social Service Research 46, no. 3 (2020).
2019
Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Lenahan L. O'Connell, Dontá Council, Khairul Azfi Anuar, David Chapman, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, and Meagan M. Jordan. "Support for and Behavioral Responses to Tolls: Insights from Hampton Roads, Virginia." In Building a Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Long-Term Economic Growth, ed. Olga V. Smirnova,113–144. Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2019).
2018
Dontá Council, Michelle Covi, Wie Yusuf, Joshua Behr, Makayla Brown, and Virginia Sea Grant. "The 'New Normal' of Flooding in Portsmouth, Virginia: Perspectives, Experiences, and Adaptive Responses of Residents and Business Owners in Low to Moderate-Income Communities. Old Dominion University Digital Commons (2018).