Kathryn J. Brasier, Ph.D.

Research Interests

My research program focuses on governance of agricultural and environmental systems. Specific research projects include networks and adoption of on-farm conservation technologies; networks as a means for rural and agricultural economic development; community watershed organizations; social and economic impacts of natural resource extraction; gender and agriculture; land use change and the social and ecological causes and consequences; and the effects of space and scale on farm and environmental decision-making.

Outreach/Extension Interests

My Extension programs follow from my research, and emphasize ways of collectively organizing and making decisions related to agricultural, natural resource and environmental issues. These programs include:

• Community Impacts of Marcellus Shale
• Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network  
• Public Participation and Community Engagement

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

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

Brantley, S., R. Vidic, K. Brasier, D. Yoxtheimer, J. Pollak, C. Wilderman, T. Wen. 2018. “Engaging over Data on Fracking and Water Quality.” Science-Policy. 359(6374):395-397. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6374/395

Mount, D., T. Kelsey, and K. Brasier. 2018. “Hotels and Oil/Gas Development: Booms, Busts, and the Future of Hotels in Oil/Gas Development Areas.” The Journal of Hospitality Financial Management.

Jacquet, J., A. N. Junod, D. Bugden, G. Wildermuth, J. T. Fergen, K. Jalbert, B. Rahm, P. Hagley, K. J. Brasier, K. Schafft, L. Glenna, T. Kelsey, J. Fershee, D. L.Kay, R. C. Stedman, J. Ladlee. 2018. “A decade of Marcellus Shale: Impacts to people, policy, and culture from 2008 to 2018 in the Greater Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.” The Extractive Industries and Society. 5(4): 596-609

Hoy, K., I. M. Xiarchos, T. W. Kelsey, K. Brasier, and L. L. Glenna. 2018. “Marcellus Shale Gas Development and Farming.” Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/age.2017.28  

Whitton, J., K. Brasier, I. M. Parry, and M. Cotton. 2017. “The Development of Shale Gas Governance in the UK and US: Opportunities for Public Participation and Implications for Social Justice.” Energy Research and Social Science 26:11-22. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617300154

Brasier, K., K. Jalbert, A. Kinchy, S. Brantley, and C. Unroe. 2017. “Barriers to Sharing Water Quality Data: Experiences from the Shale Network."  Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.

Brasier, K., C. Sachs, N. E. Kiernan, A. Trauger, and M. Barbercheck. 2014. “Capturing the Multiple and Shifting Identities of Farm Women in the Northeastern United States." Rural Sociology 

Mount, D., Kelsey, T., & Brasier, K. 2014. "The impact of Marcellus Shale development on hotel revenues in Pennsylvania." ICHRIE Penn State Research Report 2014-1. 

Prokopy, L., N. Mullendore, K. Brasier, and K. Floress. 2014. “Creating a Typology of Catalyst Events for Collaborative Watershed Management in the United States." Society and Natural Resources 

Brasier, K, D. McLaughlin, D. Rhubart, R. Stedman, M. Filteau, and J. Jacquet. 2013. “Risk Perceptions of Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale." Environmental Practice 15:108-122.

Stedman, R. C., J. B. Jacquet, M. R. Filteau, F. K. Willits, K. J. Brasier, and D. K. McLaughlin. 2012. "Marcellus Shale Gas Development and New Boomtown Research: Views of New York and Pennsylvania Residents." Journal of Environmental Practice 14:287-298.

Barbercheck, M., K. Brasier, N.E. Kiernan, C. Sachs, and A. Trauger. 2012. “Use of Best Management Practices by Women Farmers in the Northeastern United States." Renewable Food and Agriculture Systems 29(1):65-82.

Kiernan, Nancy Ellen; Barbercheck, Mary; Brasier, Kathryn J.; Sachs, Carolyn; Terman, Anna Rachel. 2012. “Women Farmers: Pulling Up Their Own Educational Boot Straps with Extension." Journal of Extension 50(5):5RIB5. 

Brasier, K., M. Filteau, D. McLaughlin, R. Stedman, J. Jacquet, T. Kelsey, and S. Goetz. 2011. “Residents' Perceptions of Community and Environmental Impacts from Development of Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale: A Comparison of Pennsylvania and New York Case Studies." Journal of Rural Social Sciences 26(1):32-61. Special issue on "Social Issues Associated with Unconventional Natural Gas Development"

Lenihan, M. H., and K. Brasier. 2010. “Eco-Modernization and the US Farm Bill: The Case of the Conservation Security Program." Journal of Rural Studies 26(3): 219-227.

Goetz, S., Y. Han, J. Findeis, and K. Brasier. 2010. “US Commuting Networks and Economic Growth: Measurement and Implications for Spatial Policy." Growth and Change Special Issue: Best Practices in Rural Development and Policy 41(2): 276-302.

Trauger, A., C. Sachs. M. Barbercheck, NE Kiernan, K. Brasier, and A. Schwartzberg. 2010. “The Object of Extension: Agricultural Education and Authentic Farmers in Pennsylvania." Sociologia Ruralis 50:85-103.

Trauger, A., C. Sachs, M. Barbercheck, K. Brasier, N.E. Kiernan. 2010 "Our Market is Our Community": Women Farmers and Civic Agriculture in Pennsylvania, USA." Agriculture and Human Values . 27(1):43-55. 

Fenton, G., K. Brasier, G. Henning. 2010. Status of Women in Agriculture According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture. Journal of Agromedicine 15(1):5-6.

Fenton, G., K. Brasier, G. Henning, R. Radhakrishna, and B. Jayarao. 2010.  Occupational Health Characteristics of Women on Dairy Farms in Pennsylvania. Journal of Agromedicine 15(1):7-15.

Fenton, G., K. Brasier, G. Henning, R. Radhakrishna, and B. Jayarao. 2010. Occupational Health Behaviors and Habits of Women on Dairy Farms in Pennsylvania. Journal of Agromedicine 15(1):16-23.

Lenihan, M. H., and K. Brasier. 2009. “Scaling Down the European Model of Agriculture: The Case of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme in Ireland." Agriculture and Human Values 26(4):365-378.

Barbercheck, M., K. Brasier, N.E. Kiernan, C. Sachs, A. Trauger, J. Findeis, A. Stone, and L. Moist. 2009. “Meeting the Extension Needs of Women Farmers: A Perspective from Pennsylvania." Journal of Extension 47(3).

Brasier, K., M. Barbercheck, N. E. Kiernan, C. Sachs, A. Schwartzberg, and A. Trauger. 2009. “Extension Educators' Perceptions of the Educational Needs of Women Farmers." Journal of Extension 47(3).

Stedman, R., B. Lee, K. Brasier, J. Weigle, and F. Higdon. 2009. “Cleaning Up Water?  Or Building Rural Community?  Community Watershed Organizations in Pennsylvania." Rural Sociology 74(2):178-200.

Trauger, A., C. Sachs, M. Barbercheck, N.E. Kiernan, and K. Brasier. 2008. “Agricultural Education: Gender Identity and Knowledge Exchange." Journal of Rural Studies 24:432-439.

Brasier, K., S. Goetz, L. Smith, M. Ames, J. Green, T. Kelsey, A. Rangarajan, and W. Whitmer. 2007. “Small Farm Clusters and Pathways to Rural Community Sustainability." Community Development 38(3):8-22. Special issue on sustainable agriculture and community development.

Current and Former Graduate Students

PhD Students

Emma Chiaroni, 2025 (expected)

Sara Bonilla Anariba (co-chair), 2024 (expected)

Hannah Whitley, 2023

Grace Wildermuth, 2022

Matthew Filteau, 2012

Jon Clark, 2010 

Martin Lenihan, 2006 

Masters Students

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