The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Post-Disaster Recovery

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Greater New Orleans region. The storm and the flooding that followed it displaced over half a million people and caused over a hundred billion dollars in damage. Sadly, almost three years after Katrina, some of these devastated communities are still not firmly on the path to recovery. Some communities, however, have proved to be quite resilient and are well on their way to recovery, due in great part to social entrepreneurs. Throughout the recovery process, government action and inaction have frustrated the efforts of social entrepreneurs. The article, then, concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of this study for social entrepreneurship and disaster-response research as well as, more specifically, the burgeoning Katrina literature.