Jennifer Schneider

Biography

Jen Schneider is Professor and Interim Associate Dean of the School of Public Service at Boise State University. Jen has worked extensively in the areas of public communication of science and technology controversies, stakeholder engagement, and public engagement. She has collaborated with teams to design and facilitate large public meetings on topics such as climate change (Worldwide Views), nanotechnology (National Citizens’ Technology Forum), and rapid urban growth (Boise Community Conversations on Growth). Jen has also worked in team science contexts, collaborating with scientists and engineers to design stakeholder engagement projects on topics ranging from nuclear power to water management to farmland preservation. Jen has also done research on the rhetoric and politics of energy transitions, with a focus on how fossil fuel industries have responded to increasing market-based and regulatory threats. Her co-authored book Under Pressure: Coal Industry Rhetoric and Neoliberalism (2016) received the Book of the Year award from the National Communication Association. Current work examines the rhetoric of Energy Dominance, conservative political rhetoric, extremist movements and counter-movements, and decision-making in the federal bureaucracy. Jen’s graduate degrees are in Cultural Studies from Claremont Graduate University.