Her work addresses barriers among the scientific community, policymakers, and the public in fully utilizing science for environmental decisions. She is interested in the ways in which communities interpret scientific information and bring experience, values, and local knowledge to bear in making choices. Local and regional decision-making is particularly important for climate adaptation, her primary topical area of expertise. Her research spans topics such as deliberative processes in local communities considering sea-level rise impacts, how individuals personally experience climate change, and depictions of climate modeling in the media. She has published in Nature Climate Change, Climatic Change, and Global Environmental Change, and served as a primary investigator for projects funded by both foundations and federal grants.