Biography

Renae Marshall is broadly interested in reducing polarization of environmental problems, especially related to energy politics and decarbonization. She comes to Bren from the University of Colorado Boulder where she graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Environmental Studies. She was also named the 2021 Outstanding Graduate of the CU College of Arts and Sciences. Her most recent publications and work highlight areas of bipartisanship in decarbonization policy. Her dissertation investigates how legislators' decisions to join and collaborate as part of congressional caucuses, especially climate-related caucuses, can influence environmental policy outcomes. Renae is committed to finding common ground in the name of solving pressing environmental problems using perspectives and methods from political science and social psychology to study voting behavior, political institutions, and legislative actions. She enjoys teaching youth Irish dancing classes in the Santa Barbara area, watercolor painting, and hiking in her free time.