2023 Margarita McCoy Public Lecture series:

Dr. Carissa Slotterback is Dean and Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.  Since arriving at the University of Pittsburgh in October 2020, she has led major efforts in the school around diversity, equity, and inclusion; development and alumni engagement; research capacity building; and enhancing student experience.  She is a widely published scholar in the areas of stakeholder and public engagement and decision-making related to environmental and land use policy and planning.  She has a particular interest in how stakeholders perceive impacts and use information in making decisions, focusing on impact assessment and collaborative decision-making approaches.  Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh, she served as a faculty member and program director in urban and regional planning, as well as Associate Dean, in the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She led a number of initiatives focused on interdisciplinary and engaged research and education, including in her prior roles as director of research engagement in the Office of the Vice President for Research and as co-founder and director of the Resilient Communities Project.  She currently serves as Chair of the Dean’s Summit, member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs Executive Committee, and co-leads a committee for the American Society of Public Administration on engaged research.  She has held multiple leadership positions with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, including as Vice President.  She holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2018.