Her teaching, research, and community engagement focuses on socio-political aspects of energy technology innovation, electricity system change, and climate change communication. She has contributed to understanding the social dynamics of innovation of wind power, carbon capture and storage, and smart grid technology. A current research focus on competing visions of “smart grid” explores tensions among key actors in electricity system innovation. Stephens earned PhD at Caltech in Environmental Science and Engineering and her BA (1997) at Harvard in Environmental Science and Public Policy. Before joining the faculty of Clark University, she did post-doctoral research at Harvard’s Kennedy School and she taught courses at Tufts, Boston University, and MIT.