Mitchell Center to host talk on utilizing interdisciplinary thinking outside of academia Feb. 6

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host a talk, “Interdisciplinary Thinking Outside of the Academy: Lessons from Program Evaluation,” at 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6. 

Emma Fox, associate at Industrial Economics (IEc) with a Ph.D. and M.S. in Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Maine, will discuss how environmental economic consulting can inform decision-making by federal and state clients working to set climate and energy policy or develop programs for improving equity in disadvantaged communities. 

IEc offers practices in public policy analysis, natural resource damage assessment, carbon footprint analysis and program evaluation. Fox specializes in interdisciplinary social science methods, with expertise in stakeholder outreach and engagement, energy policy analysis, decision support and energy technologies. Her work focuses on program evaluation for state and federal clients, including characterizing community outreach and engagement for improving market uptake of clean energy services, benchmarking best practices and assessing program implementation in response to energy and climate policies. 

In this talk, Fox will discuss how program evaluation can provide an avenue for using interdisciplinary thinking to identify successes and barriers and develop recommendations for government-sponsored programs. Fox will also talk about her interdisciplinary research experience at UMaine, and how it has supported her career at IEc.

All talks in the Mitchell Center’s Sustainability Talks series are free and are offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall. Registration is required to attend remotely; to register and receive connection information, see the event webpage.

Please note that face coverings are required for all persons attending Mitchell Center Sustainability Talks. 

Updates for this event will be posted to the event webpage. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Ruth Hallsworth, 207.581.3196 or hallsworth@maine.edu.