Laura Warner

Biography

Laura Warner is a guest research scholar in the Cooperation and Transformative Governance Research Group of the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis Program and an associate professor of Extension Education in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication and the Center for Land Use Efficiency at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, USA. She specializes in translating behavioral theory into practical action and understanding behavioral influences on the adoption of best practices. She focuses her research on understanding factors that influence behavior change, with an emphasis on water and natural resources protection among key target audiences such as urban residents, nursery growers, and farmers. She is especially interested in how social norms influence adoption decisions and how innovations are diffused throughout social systems.

Warner's extension programming translates her research findings into impactful extension, outreach, communication, and policy recommendations that bridge the gap between innovation and adoption; and concentrates on enhancing the program development and evaluation competencies of extension and outreach professionals. She holds BS and MS degrees in environmental horticulture and an EdD in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication.


Last update: 08 MAY 2023