Jessica Rudnick is a social science extension specialist with California Sea Grant based in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and working in partnership with the Delta Stewardship Council, a California state agency. In her extension position, she is focusing on building a collaborative social science community in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; synthesizing existing data on stakeholders' uses, values and perceptions of the Delta as a place; establishing longitudinal monitoring of the social health and wellbeing of Delta communities through recurring surveys and focus groups with key stakeholder groups; and outreach efforts that focus on increasing literacy for social science within natural resource management agencies, building capacity among community groups to engage in public policy processes that affect their livelihoods and wellbeing, and youth environmental policy education and training opportunities. Her applied research interests include agricultural-environmental governance and decision making, water quality, environmental justice, and climate adaptation. Jessica completed her BA in environmental science from Washington University in St. Louis, and her MS and PhD in Ecology, with an emphasis on human ecology and environmental policy, at UC Davis. Her dissertation research focused on agriculture-environmental-water governance and farmer decision-making around nutrient management.

More on current work: 

• Social science integration work in the Delta, see: https://deltacouncil.ca.gov/social-science
• California Sea Grant: https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/profile/jessica-rudnick-0

More on research at UC Davis: 

• See project page: Agricultural Nutrient Management.
• See project page: Climate Smart Agricultural Policy.