Chelsie McWhorter

Dr. Chelsie McWhorter is an Assistant Professor in the Fire and Emergency Management Administration Program, located within the School of Fire, Construction and Emergency Management situated in CEAT. Prior to joining the faculty at Oklahoma State University, she spent more than 13 years as a Firefighter Lieutenant and a nationally registered EMT-B. She completed her doctoral work in Geography at the University of California Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in Geographical Sciences from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In addition to these degrees, she has obtained a variety of fire service certifications in leadership, structural firefighting, vehicle and machinery operations, hazardous materials, and rope rescue (among others), and is a National Registry Certified EMT-B. 

Dr. McWhorter conducts research at the intersection of the fire service, geography & GIS, and psychology. She is interested in understanding how geospatial techniques and spatial cognition can inform fire service training and operations, preparedness, and decision making. Her previous research has explored firefighters’ spatial abilities, firefighter environmental scale navigation and training, and firefighter spatial decision making.

More information about her research and scholarly activities can be found at ChelsieMcWhorter.com
Follow along with what is happening in her lab at GeoSpatialCognitionLab.com