Tara Grillos

Promoted to Associate Professor

Department of Political Science

tgrillos@purdue.edu

Tara Grillos completed a Ph.D. in Public Policy at Harvard University, a master’s in International Studies and a bachelor’s in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. She was a postdoctoral researcher with the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, before she joined the Purdue faculty in 2017.

Her research focuses on the human dimensions of sustainable development policy. Grillos studies the effects of local governance arrangements on environmental behavior and collective action, as well as the impact of policy on human well-being, health and equity. Her research combines experimental and quasi-experimental methods with fieldwork and is primarily conducted through direct partnerships with local non-governmental organizations and government agencies in various developing countries, including Honduras, Bolivia, and Kenya.

Grillos teaches POL 223: Introduction to Environmental Policy, a service course that draws students from across disciplines. An engaged campus citizen, she is affiliated with the Policy Center for the Environment, Building Sustainable Communities, and Ecological Sciences and Engineering.