About Joe

I am the Dana and David Dornsife Professor of Psychology, Biological Sciences, and Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California. I’m also the Director of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability.

I started my career as an environmental scientist and oceanographer, but it didn’t take long before I became more interested in people than copepods. And what really caught my interest was the messy business that is people’s perceptions and behaviors about the environment. Why do people say they care about something and then not act accordingly? So, at the heart of my work is the idea that how and what people think—alongside what information they rely on or ignore—affects how they behave. 

On top of my day job at USC, I am a science advisor to the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and a consultant to a bunch of different government agencies, businesses, and NGOs. I’m also a member of the National Academy of Science’s Board on Environmental Change and Society.

But that’s only half the story. Actually, probably less than half. I’m inspired by wayfarers and storytellers like Robert Capa, Lee Miller, Vivian Maier, Marie Colvin, Raymond Depardon, and Anthony Bourdain. So, away from the office and lab, I play the role of student and observer of the world, not to mention the people and other living things that occupy it. And the more places I visit, and the more people I meet, the more I believe—or, at least try to believe—that we’re connected more strongly by our similarities than we are by our differences.