Kathryn J. Brasier, Ph.D.

Research Interests

Dr. Brasier's research, teaching, and Extension/outreach programs focus on environment-society interactions, stakeholder engagement processes, collective action related to agricultural and environmental issues, and gender and agriculture. Her current work examines collaborative natural resource management, specifically the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement methods for achieving social and environmental change. She previously was part of Penn State Extension’s Economic and Community Development and Marcellus Education Teams, and teaches in the Community, Environment, and Development major and Rural Sociology graduate program. 

Outreach/Extension Interests

Most of my work is applied and follows from my research, emphasizing strategies for collectively organizing and making decisions related to agricultural, natural resource and environmental issues. These programs include:

• Stakeholder Engagement for managing natural resources 
• Community Impacts of Marcellus Shale
• Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network  

Publications

Books

Whitton, J., K. Brasier, M. Cotton, I.C. Parry, eds. 2018. Governing Shale Gas Development, Citizen Participation and Decision Making in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe. London: Routledge Studies in Energy Policy.

Sachs, C., M. Barbercheck, K. Brasier, N.E. Kiernan, and A. R. Terman. 2016. The Rise of Women Farmers and Sustainable Agriculture. Iowa City, IA: Univ. of Iowa Press. 

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Whitley, H., Engle, E., Brasier, K. J., Eaton, W., Burbach, M., Fowler, L., Anariba, S. B., Butzler, E., Dixon, K., Kumar Chaudhary, A., & Whitmer, W. E. 2024. Stakeholder Engagement in Water Resource Management: A Systematic Review of Definitions, Practices, and Outcomes. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2024.2323611  

Mateer TJ, Melton TN, Miller ZD, Lawhon B, Agans JP, Lawson DF, Brasier KJ, Taff BD. 2023. The Potential Pro-Environmental Behavior Spillover Effects of Specialization in Environmentally Responsible Outdoor Recreation. Land. 12(11):1970. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12111970

Burbach, M. E., Eaton, W. M., Kennedy, S. M., & Brasier, K. J. 2023. Foundational conditions enabling participatory river management in watersheds of two regulatorily disparate states: A mixed methods study. River Research and Applications, 1– 12. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.4108

Eaton, W.M., Brasier, K.J., Burbach, M.E. et al. 2023. A new approach for studying social, behavioral, and environmental change through stakeholder engagement in water resource management. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 13, 389–403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-023-00835-8

Quimby, B., Nichols, C., du Bray, M., Cantor, A., Bausch, J., Wutich, A., Williams, C., Porter, S., Eaton, W., & Brasier, K. J. 2023. Changing Flows: Sociotechnical Tinkering for Adaptive Water Management. Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01744-2

Eaton, W., Burnham, M., Robertson, T., Arbuckle, J.G., & Brasier, K. J., et al. 2022. Advancing the scholarship and practice of stakeholder engagement in working landscapes: a co-produced research agenda. Socio-Ecological Practice Research 4:283–304. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42532-022-00132-8 

Ulrich-Schad, J., Li, S., Arbuckle, J., Avemegah, E., Brasier, K. J., Burnham, M., Kumar Chaudhary, A., Eaton, W., Gu, W., Haigh, T., Jackson-Smith, D., Metcalf, A., Pradhananga, A., Prokopy, L., Sanderson, M., Wade, E., & Wilke, A. 2022. An Inventory and Assessment of Sample Sources for Survey Research with Agricultural Producers in the U.S. Society and Natural Resources. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2022.2081392

Chandler, K. D., A. L. Gunsallus, M. A. Martin & K. J. Brasier. 2022. ‘Gas-Patch dads': experiences at the nexus of work, family, and community contexts, Community, Work & Family https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2022.2063107

Eaton, W. M., K. J. Brasier, J. C. Bausch, J. Delozier, M. E. Burbach, A. Wutich, W. Whitmer, S. Kennedy, J. Weigle, C. C. Hinrichs, B. Quimby, C. Williams. 2022. “Perspectives on collaboration among agricultural producers: Evidence from Arizona, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania.” Journal of Rural Studies. https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0743-0167(22)00101-2

du Bray, M. V., Quimby, B., Bausch, J. C., Wutich, A., Porter, S., Eaton, W., Brasier, K. J., Brewis, A., & Williams. 2022. “Red, white & blue: Environmental distress among water stakeholders in a U.S. farming community.” Weather, Climate and Society. 14(2): 585-595. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-21-0103.1

Eaton, W., Brasier, K. J., Burbach, M., Whitmer, W. E., Engle, E., Burnham, M., Quimby, B., Kumar Chaudhary, A., Whitley, H., Delozier, J., Fowler, L., Wutich, A., Bausch, J., Beresford, M., Hinrichs, C. C., Burkhart-Kriesel, C., Gall, H. E., Williams, C., Watson, J. E., & Weigle, J. 2021. A Conceptual Framework for Social, Behavioral, and Environmental Change through Stakeholder Engagement in Water Resource Management. Society and Natural Resources, 34(8), 1111-1132. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2021.1936717

Barnes, R. G., Gall, H. E., Rotz, C. A., Watson, J. E., Elliott, H. A., Veith, T. L., Williams, C., & Brasier, K. J. 2021. Cover cropping and interseeding management practices to improve runoff quality from dairy farms in central Pennsylvania. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 64(4), 1403-1413. DOI: 10.13031/trans.14329

Mullenbach, L., Mowen, A. J., & Brasier, K. J. 2021. Urban parks, growth machine, and media: Analysis of press coverage of the High Line, Klyde Warren Park, and Rail Park. Environmental Sociology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2021.1893429

Beresford, M., Jones, J. L., Bausch, J. C., Williams, C. F., Wutich, A., Porter, S., Quimby, B., Eaton, W. M., & Brasier, K. J. 2020. Third-Party Effects in Stakeholder Interviews. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920966482

Wutich, A., M. Beresford, J. C. Bausch, W. Eaton, K. Brasier, C. Williams, and S. Porter. 2020. “Identifying stakeholder groups in natural resource management: Comparing quantitative and qualitative social network approaches.” Society and Natural Resources 33(7): 941-948. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2019.1707922  

Schafft, K., K. Brasier, and A. Hesse. 2019. “A Multidimensional Reconceptualization of Boomtown Development and its Impacts: Thinking Regionally, Spatially and Contextually.” Journal of Rural Studies 68:296-305. https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Z2u92eyKFVs7M

Miller, M. D., H. E. Gall, A.R. Buda, L. S. Saporito, T. L. Veith, C. M. White, C. F. Williams, K. J. Brasier, P. J. A. Kleinman, J. E. Watson. 2019. “Load – discharge relationships reveal the efficacy of manure application practices on phosphorus and total solids losses from agricultural fields.” Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 272:19-28.

Rhubart, D., and K. Brasier. 2019. “Criminal Activity During Natural Resource Development: Drilling, Drinking and Disorderly Conduct in the Marcellus Shale Region.” Society and Natural Resources. DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2019.1574046

Current and Former Graduate Students

PhD Students

Ellie Martin, 2028 (expected)

Emma Chiaroni, 2026

Sara Bonilla Anariba (co-chair), 2024

Hannah Whitley, 2023

Grace Wildermuth, 2022

Matthew Filteau, 2012

Jon Clark, 2010 

Martin Lenihan, 2006 

Masters Students

Zoe Chambliss, 2026

Erin Trouba, 2023  

Hannah Whitley, 2019

Grace Wildermuth, 2018

Josh Perchinski, 2017

Colleen Unroe, 2016

Mark Suchyta, 2016

Melissa Ward, 2016

Lindsay Smith, 2008

Sarah Black, (AEE, co-chair) 2008