Tarla Rai Peterson

Dr. Tarla Rai Peterson is a professor of Communication at the University of Texas, El Paso. She also serves as a guest professor of Environmental Communication at the Swedish University of Agrcultural Sciences and as an Adjunct Professor of Communication at the University of Utah. Dr. Peterson has published several books on communication, technology and the environment as well as numerous research articles on environmental conflict and public participation in environmental policy-making. Her research program explores how the intersections between communication, democratic practice and policy enable/constrain policy options and public life. She values classroom teaching, and serves as a faculty mentor for graduate teaching assistants. She has developed an active Theory to Practice program that includes design and evaluation of best practices for facilitating public participation in environmental policy planning and implementation. The program is centered on the critical role of communication in facilitating the emergence and operation of sustainable environmental policy. Dr. Peterson’s most recent books examine conflict surrounding housing (The Housing Bomb, published by Johns Hopkins University Press) and energy (Smart Grid [R]Evolution, published by Cambridge University Press) policy. She has worked with environmental conflict in a variety of locations including Australia, El Salvador, India, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States.