Environmental/Public Policy Sector

Alumni Highlight l Careers l Elective Courses l Internships l Final Project l Faculty Highlight


​​​​​​Use collaborative governance approaches to public decision-making that involves multi-party negotiations to create agreement and resolve conflicts over contentious public issues. Examples include land use, resource management, health care, affordable housing, and transportation. Working in this area, you will use mediation, facilitation, negotiation coaching, training, and project management.


Alumni Highlight 

 Melanie Knapp, ENVS/CRES '14

Senior Program Associate

Udall Foundation, U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (Tucson, AZ)

alumni photo

 

Melanie provides situational and program assessments, facilitates collaboration, capacity-building, conflict resolution, and technical assistance and training.


"Through my graduate coursework and internship, I gained knowledge grounded in the realities of the field, grew my network, and was well-prepared to hit the ground running in my current position."


Careers

  • Group Facilitator/Mediator (environmental dispute resolution) SRA International, Arlington, VA
  • Senior Facilitator, Kearns & West, Portland, OR
  • Public Participation Specialist, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Chatsworth, CA
  • Facilitation Associate, EnviroIssues, Seattle, WA and Portland, OR

Elective Course Ideas

CRES 660 – Environmental Conflict Resolution

ENVS 535 – Environmental Justice

ENVS 550 – Political Ecology

LAW 610 – Nonprofit Clinic

PHIL 645 – Environmental Philosophy

PPPM 507 – Seminar:  Public Engagement

PPPM 507 – Seminar: Decision Making Analysis

PPPM 507 – Urban and Community Revitalization

PPPM 518 – Introduction to Public Law

PPPM 522 – Grant Proposal Writing

PPPM 636 – Public Policy Analysis

 


Internship Ideas

  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust
  • National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC)
  • Our Children’s Trust
  • Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative
  • Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services
  • The Ruckelshaus Center
  • Tualatin Riverkeepers

Previous Final Projects

A Solution Under Pressure: Integrating Facilitative Practices into Water-Related Civil Litigations 

Agriculture Coexistence Mediation Manual: A Training Manual for Mediators of Farmer-to-Farmer Disputes

Beauty or the Beast: Understanding Attitudes About Wolves in Washington State and Their Implications for Wolf Management

Facilitator Techniques for Groups that Go Home: Wisdom for Resilience in Multiparty Negotiations

North American Groundwater Disputes: A Study of the Impact of Exempt Wells

The Electrification of Transportation in Oregon: Opportunities for University, Government, and Industry Collaboration

The Hammer and the Hand: How the Integration of Top-Down and Bottom- Up Governance Regimes Can Transform Groundwater Conflict in Oregon’s Malheur Lake Basin

The Northwest Regional Environmental Forum: A Case Study for Collaborative Governance



Faculty Highlight - Todd Jarvis

Pro Tem Instructor and Director of the Institute for Water & Watersheds at Oregon State University

Todd Jarvis

Professor Jarvis teaches Environmental Conflict Resolution for the CRES program and a wide variety of courses at Oregon State University. Todd is a consulting groundwater hydrologist with over 30 years of experience working for global water/wastewater engineering and groundwater engineering firms. He also worked as an expert witness and provided litigation support on groundwater rights and water well construction in the western US before becoming enlightened as a licensed and insured mediator in the US. With professional licenses as a Certified Engineering Geologist, Certified Water Right Examiner, and Certified Mediator, Todd’s interests include transboundary aquifers, groundwater and water well conflict resolution. He is a consultant to UNESCO-IHE in Delft where he teaches Environmental Conflict Resolution. He served on the Oregon State Board of Geologists Examiners through an appointment by former Governor Kitzhaber. Todd received his training as a geologist and hydrogeologist from the University of Wyoming and his PhD in Resource Geography from Oregon State University.