Jay Balagna is a Ph.D. candidate at the RAND School of Public Policy and the California Policy Advisor for Megafire Action. His research interests include disaster studies, disaster risk management, wildfire (especially wildfire in the American West), post-disaster migration, and the intersection of disasters and human health. 

Prior to his policy research work, Balagna was a wildland firefighter in Nevada and Montana, an emergency medical technician in Los Angeles, and a political journalist working in the United States and Chile. He has an M.Phil. in policy analysis from the RAND School, an M.P.H. from Emory University, and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Nevada, Reno.