Extension Specialist Rudnick’s position is joint between California Sea Grant and the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC), a California state agency that works to advance the state’s “coequal goals” for the Delta: a more reliable statewide water supply and a healthy and protected Delta ecosystem, both achieved in a manner that protects and enhances the unique characteristics of the Delta as an evolving place.
Coastal and ocean pollution is a pervasive problem at local, regional, and global scales with a wide range of consequences to human health, the environment, and the economy. Collaborative action is required to understand sources, impacts and solution reduce and prevent pollution by trash and other contaminants, and to ensure that California communities, environments, and economies remain productive and resilient.
Rudnick supports social social science in the California Delta by helping to integrate social science theory and methods into both inward facing and outward facing DSC initiatives, including the Delta’s Science Action Agenda, Public Participation Plan, JEDI action plan, and strategic visioning. Rudnick leads applied research projects to improve understanding of Environmental Justice issues in the Delta region and across the state, and the Delta communities' beliefs and behaviors around environmental and climate changes to strengthen resilience of rural and under represented communities.
She also facilitates outreach to communities in the Delta and throughout the state will be to gather information needed to answer research questions and also to report on findings and work collaboratively with stakeholders to apply knowledge to solutions. Rudnick will also leverage her recent research on transformative agriculture landscapes in the Delta to train and offer outreach on interdisciplinary approaches to agricultural nutrient management for improved water quality.
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Social Science Integration at the Delta Stewardship Council