Andrea K. Gerlak

Andrea K. Gerlak is a faculty research associate at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona, and director of academic development with the International Studies Association (ISA). She holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Arizona.

At the Udall Center, her research focuses on institutions for governing water resources. She examines cooperation and conflict around water, including questions of institutional change and adaptation to climate change in rivers basins, and human rights and equity issues in water governance. She has served as consultant for UNESCO on global water initiatives and a co-PI on a project funded by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research on interdisciplinarity and user-oriented science.

For the International Water Security Network (IWSN), Andrea is contributing to the team’s understanding of water security. In one activity, she is leading a research effort to review the case-study literature to see how the concept is used by researchers and water professionals across the globe. In another, she is a co-Principal Investigator of an NSF-funded project, “Coupled Networks in Urbanized Landscapes: Linking Ecosystem Services and Governance for Water Sustainability.” She also participates in the Arizona IWSN team’s work on science diplomacy and water security, and on its examination of the role of water ethics in society.

In her capacity as director of academic development with the International Studies Association (housed at the University of Connecticut), Andrea facilitates academic development across ISA’s substantive academic sections, including developing programs to foster junior scholar engagement and program development in international studies.

At the University of Arizona, she teaches classes on institutions and learning in collaborative governance, as part of the UA graduate certificate in collaborative governance. She is a senior research fellow with the Earth System Governance Project. Andrea has over ten years’ experience building, administering, and teaching in interdisciplinary environmental studies programs.

For additional information and selected publications, see: http://www.udallcenter.arizona.edu/people/staff/andrea-k-gerlak.

Andrea K. Gerlak