He joined the Department of Social Sciences in 2011 after a 15 year career with Canadian federal government. His background in policy and public management will contribute to the research and teaching in the Environmental Policy Program. His research interests include investigating multi-level governance arrangements in the natural resource sector, measuring policy capacity and evidence based policy-making, policy mechanisms, and theories of the policy process. His main areas of interest include Canadian Energy and Environmental Issues, Climate Change Adaptation, Oil Sands Development, Forest Policy, and Canadian history. He enjoys developing and conducting (primarily online) surveys and undertaking structural equation modeling using LISREL. Dr Wellstead received his PhD in Renewable Resources from the University of Alberta in 2006.