Caryn_Reg
Caryn Klaff joined the Skunkworks Lab in 2002. Her research focused on the topic of risk communication with a particular emphasis on making risk information more accessible to non-expert decision makers. Many “traditional” examples of risk communication tend to rely upon a variety of user-friendly venues, such as the internet or public meetings, for presenting what still amounts relatively complex technical information about risks.

Caryn’s work tested alternative means by which risk information could be presented to people with the goal of reducing information complexity; this included both the use of “value-focused” approaches that attempt to more closely link stakeholder values with their decisions, and narrative (or storytelling) strategies that present risk information in the form of first-person vignettes. In Caryn’s research, both approaches showed considerable promise in terms of making risk information more accessible to a wide range of stakeholders. Caryn received her M.Sc. in 2004; she currently works for the Environmental Protection Agency.


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