Heather Stephens is currently an Assistant Professor in Resource Economics and Management and a Faculty Research Affiliate at the Regional Research Institute (RRI) at West Virginia University.
She conducts policy-oriented research that spans energy, environmental and regional economics. She is especially interested in examining the differences in the impact of policies across regions. Her research has been published in the Journal of Regional Science, Growth and Change, International Regional Science Review, Small Business Economics, and Environmental and Resource Economics. She is also the North American Editor of Regional Studies, Regional Science. She received her Ph.D. and an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University and has a B.A. in Economics and Public Policy Studies from Duke University. Previously, Dr. Stephens was an Assistant Professor of Economics at California State University, Long Beach, and also has prior experience working for a U.S. Congressman, on strategic partnership development for a Fortune 100 company, as a local economic development director, and on regional economic development and energy-related issues at a university-based applied research institute.