Bret Shaw

Bret Shaw is an Environmental Communication Specialist for the Division of Extension and an associate professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He focuses on planning, implementing, and evaluating social marketing campaigns dealing with natural resource management issues such as water quality, land use, and environmental conservation. He teaches courses on social marketing, environmental communication, and science communication.

Shaw received his Ph.D. in Mass Communication at UW–Madison, where his teaching and research experience related to strategic communication. After completing his graduate work, he worked as a market research manager in the technology industry in California.

Shaw has published in a diverse range of peer-reviewed journals including Society and Natural Resources, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Science Communication, Conservation Biology, Journal of Forestry, Environmental Management, Social Marketing Quarterly, Lake and Reservoir Management, Energy Policy, Politics and the Life Sciences, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture, Human Dimensions of Wildlife, and American Behavioral Scientist, among others.

He has also published extensively in the health communication literature with financial support from the National Institutes of Health and private philanthropic organizations, focusing on how to use technology to help people living with cancer or substance abuse disorders. He has received national and international media attention for the studies he has published.