Dr. Andrew Carter

Andrew is a native of New York City, where he studied anthropology and geography at Hunter College of the City University of New York, before eventually attending law school at the University of Miami. After graduating he practiced law in Florida and New York (where he remains licensed to practice, though he's not sure why), before returning to the University of Miami to get a Ph.D. at the Abess Center (while getting an M.A. in marine conservation and policy from Stony Brook University en route).

For his dissertation, Andrew studied the development of both mercury policy and mercury science over time, and how policymakers, scientists, and the general public have perceived and act upon risk and uncertainty concerning mercury. He approached these issues through a framework that uses mental models theory informed by science and technology studies, decision science, and cultural anthropology. Through historical research, qualitative interviews, and reviews of legal and regulatory documents during both national and international law and policy development, he explored how effective environmental policy is created -- or blocked -- at the intersection of conflicting value systems and scientific uncertainty.

Following graduation, Andrew entered the lucrative, glamorous and not-frustrating-at-all world of environmental NGO advocacy work, first serving as research director at Miami Waterkeeper before joining Defenders of Wildlife's Center for Conservation Innovation (CCI) in Washington, D.C., first as a senior conservation policy analyst before becoming director of conservation policy. At CCI he leads a team of analysts focusing on the Endangered Species Act, evaluating its implementation and developing policy proposals to improve biodiversity protections in the United States. 

Find his online CV here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IIRt2WEKuUwfxjDIpHvEKdhrNco9r8Jg/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117624430820496129156&rtpof=true&sd=true

Selected Publications

Carter, A. (2018). Alchemical rulemaking and ideological framing: Lessons from the 40-year battle to regulate mercury emissions from electric power plants. 58 Natural Resources Journal 1.

Carter, A. (2019). “Miami-Dade Case Study” in Rooney, S.  (ed.) Regional Water Planning for Climate Resilience, American Planning Association.

Carter. A. (2021). Getting to 30x30: A Roadmap for States. Defenders of Wildlife.

Evansen, M, Carter, A., & Malcom, J. A monitoring policy framework for the United States Endangered Species Act. Env. Res. Let. 16 031001

Evansen, M., Harl, H., Carter, A. & Malcom, J. (2021) Status of the recovery mandate under section  7(a)(1) of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Front. Conserv. Sci 2:768628

Macdonald, C., & Carter, A. (2019). Blood in the water: Shark feeding, tourism, and the law. Environmental Law 50(1).

Malcom, J., & Carter, A. (2021).  Better representation is needed in U.S. Endangered

Species Act implementation. Front. Cons. Sci. 2:650543

Millet, B., Carter, A., Broad, K., Cairo, A., Evans, S., & Majumdar, S. (2020) Hurricane risk communication: Visualization and behavioral science concepts. Weather, Climate and Society, 12(2):193-211. 

Selected Presentations

Carter, A., & Harl, H. (2022). A landscape-level look at the national HCP program. Presented at the annual meeting of the National HCP Coalition, Austin, TX, Oct. 25, 2022. 

Carter, A. (2020). The Endangered Species Act: Fighting the extinction crisis. Presented at the national forum of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, virtual, Aug. 6, 2020.

Carter, A. (2018). The Administrative Procedure Act and public involvement in American environmental rulemaking. Presented at the annual Public Administration Research Conference, Orlando, FL, April 13, 2018.

Carter, A. (2018). Rhetorical rulemaking: Deconstructing environmental regulatory texts. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2018.

Carter, A. (2017). Mental models of mercury risk among South Florida anglers. Presented at the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, RI, July 18, 2017. 

Carter, A. (2017). Clear air and unclear science: Uncertainty and ideology in the federal rulemaking process. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Seattle, WA, Jan. 24, 2017.

Evans, M., Carter, A., & Malcom, J. (2020). Conservation policy crash-course for scientists. Presented at the North American Congress for Conservation Biology, virtual, July 31, 2020.