Osland to Lead New Research Program at Blanco Public Policy Center

The Blanco Public Policy Center is pleased to announce it has named Dr. Anna Osland as its new Associate Director of Research. Dr. Osland will lead the Blanco Center’s new Research Program on Economic and Environmental Resilience. 

“As the Blanco Center’s portfolio of research continues to grow, we have established a strong and growing cluster of expertise in economic and environmental resilience,” according to Stephen Barnes, Director of the Blanco Center. “Launching this research program will help us to better align our existing and planned work in this area and Dr. Osland’s leadership will strengthen our ability to deliver high impact research on economic and environmental resilience.”

This new research program will delve deeply into research and policy issues critical to Louisiana. While examining the nexus between economic and environmental issues, the program will add focus to their complex relationships and evaluate how they impact individual, community, and state-level resilience. Against a challenging economic backdrop, Louisiana is at the leading edge of responding to environmental challenges and lessons learned here will help chart a course for communities elsewhere dealing with similar challenges. 

For the last two years, Dr. Osland served as a senior research associate at the Blanco Public Policy Center. In this role she led or collaborated on multiple projects, including research addressing issues of coastal restoration, coastal financing, transportation policy, workforce development, flood hazard mitigation, poverty, and broadband connectivity. At the Blanco Center, Dr. Osland coauthored multiple journal articles, reports, policy briefs, and provided leadership for the creation of three digital data dashboards. 

Prior to her work at the Blanco Center, Dr. Osland was the Director of Workforce and Policy Issues for One Acadiana. In that position she researched, launched, and lead their 55 by 25 initiative, which aimed to increase the percentage of working age adults with a degree or high-value credential to 55% by 2025; and Link & Learn, an initiative which aims to create connectivity solutions in Lafayette Parish. Dr. Osland earned a master’s and PhD in City & Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon where she was named Distinguished Alum of the Year in 2021.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to lead the Blanco Center’s Economic and Environmental Resilience research and to step into the role of Associate Director of Research,” said Osland. “Louisiana’s economic and environmental futures are inextricably tied together. With this new position, I look forward to building a program that examines the key issues that impact our future.”

About the Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center
The Blanco Center is an independent, interdisciplinary research center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In addition to the center’s growing portfolio of research, the Blanco Center brings together experts from different academic departments for collaborative research, host colloquia, and provide training for community leaders and elected officials. Learn more at BlancoCenter.Louisiana.edu

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