Elizabeth (Liz) Shanahan

Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Shanahan is the Associate Vice President for Research Development and a Professor in the Department of Political Science at Montana State University. As a public policy scholar, her research centers on how policy narratives influence public opinion and policy decisions. She is a co-architect of the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), a popular and internationally renowned policy process theory. Her current application of the NPF is centered on risk communication, specifically the development of a narrative risk communication framework that situates scientific risk information in story form in order to increase preparedness. Her research crosses multiple policy domains—infectious disease (zoonotic spillovers specifically), natural hazards, human-wildlife conflict, and cyber security. She has been awarded over $10.5 million in research from National Science Foundation, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies and foundations. She enjoys skiing and hiking in the mountains of Montana.