Damon Hall

Damon Hall holds a joint appointment between the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, based at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center in Nahant. His research focuses on the human dimensions of sustainability challenges where science, policy, and culture meet. He is interested in questions about how to make knowledge useful for sustainable transitions. His work addresses two related themes: (1) the representation and communication of social–ecological systems in decision making and (2) meaningful stakeholder participation in environmental policy and science. He argues that research that contributes to the resiliency of social–ecological systems must be transdisciplinary in that it engages communities of diverse experts including scientists, stakeholders, managers, and local practitioners to design innovations that make sense to how people—whose behavior is the target of policy—commonly experience their world.

His lab is currently working on inclusive systems modeling and life-cycle-assessments, exploring how engaging communities of practitioners can lead to more meaningful models for society and science. His research also tracks the development of insect pollinator conservation policy and implications for land-use planning. For the past two decades, he has been engaging communities in water resources management and infrastructure decision making to address flooding, drought, erosion, water sharing, and the development of nature-based solutions. His lab works closely with state and federal natural resource management agencies advising community engagement and planning efforts.

Damon Hall earned an MA in Communication at Purdue University and a PhD in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University.