Bio & C.V.

I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Arlington.

My research and teaching interests are in public policy, with a specific interest in environmental policy and politics. My work includes such areas as theories of the policy process, policy learning, belief systems (specifically cultural theory), deliberation, climate change, energy, and natural hazards.

Academic Appointments

2025–present

Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Arlington

2022–2025

Director of the Master of Public Administration program, College of Charleston

2019–2025

Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston

2013–2019

Assistant Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston

2008–2013

Graduate Research Assistant, Center for Applied Social Research, University of Oklahoma

Academic Affiliations

2024–present

Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, University of Oklahoma

2017–2021

Faculty Affiliate, Sustainability Literacy Institute, College of Charleston

2014–2019

Research Fellow, Center for Public Choice and Market Process, College of Charleston

Education

2013

Ph.D., Political Science, University of Oklahoma
Fields: Public Policy, Public Administration, American Politics

2008

M.A., Political Science, University of Central Oklahoma
Emphasis: Public Affairs

2003

B.A., Psychology, University of Central Oklahoma

Research Funding

Co-PI

2023–2026

Flipping the Cages on Sustainable Aquaculture: A Study on Oyster Aquaculture Technique and Policy to Reduce Pathogens. Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Co-PI with Sarah Pedigo (Lead PI), Matthew Gorstein, Peter Kingsley-Smith, and Mike Marshall. $361,000. Project page

2021–2023

Studying How Things Fall Apart: Exploring Municipal Services System Failures to Help Develop Science-Based Decision-Points in South Carolina Coastal Communities. NOAA Climate Program Office, Adaptation Sciences Program. Co-PI with Susan Lovelace (Lead PI), Kirstin Dow, Matthew Gorstein, Landon Knapp, Norm Levine, Robert Merchant, Abi Locatis Prochaska, Sarah Watson, and Alicia Wilson. $298,218.

2016–2018

Can Deliberative Discussions Lay a Foundation for Integrated Decision-Making Networks? Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Co-PI with Susan Lovelace and Justin Reedy. $259,414.

Lead PI

2018–2019

Stakeholder Collaboration in Climate Change Planning and Decision-Making Networks. Center for Public Choice and Market Process, School of Business, College of Charleston. $5,040.

2018

Risk, Resilience, and Environmental Justice. Sustainability Literacy Institute, College of Charleston. $3,000.

2017–2018

Public Support for a Carbon Tax to Address Climate Change. Center for Public Choice and Market Process, College of Charleston. $7,000.

2017

Institutional Diversity in Dealing with Sea-Level Rise in South Carolina. Sustainability Literacy Institute, College of Charleston. $2,000.

2016–2017

The Political Economy of Climate Change Governance in the United States. Center for Public Choice and Market Process, College of Charleston. $7,000.

2014–2015

Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change in South Carolina’s Coastal Communities: An Approach using Cultural Cognition and Deliberative Polling. South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. $25,000.

2014–2015

Congressional Hearings and the Collection of Information: Committee Chairs and the Politics of Climate Change. Center for Public Choice and Market Process, College of Charleston. $7,000.

2014–2015

Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change in Charleston: An Approach using Cultural Cognition and Deliberative Democracy. With Lorna Parkinson. Student/Faculty Research Development Funding, Master of Environmental Studies Program, College of Charleston. $2,500.

Academic and Professional Conferences

APSA

American Political Science Association — 2014, 2016, 2018–2019, 2023

MPSA

Midwest Political Science Association — 2009–2012, 2014–2019, 2021–2022, 2025

WPSA

Western Political Science Association — 2015, 2019, 2021

COPPR

Conference on Policy Process Research — 2023–2024

IWPP

International Workshops on Public Policy — 2022

Other

Social Coast Forum (2018, 2020, 2024); Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference (2016); Public Choice Society (2014); Used Fuel Management Conference (2014); National Nuclear Fuel Cycle Summit (2012)

For publications and invited talks, see Writings.