Professor Tanya Heikkila

Tanya Heikkila is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, where she directs the Master of Public Policy Program and co-directs the Center for Policy and Democracy. She previously served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and directed the PhD Program. Her research and teaching focus on policy processes and environmental governance, with a particular interest in how conflict and collaboration emerge in policymaking and the institutional arrangements that foster learning and reduce conflict. Her work spans issues such as interstate watershed management, ecosystem restoration, oil and gas development, and land use and housing.
Professor Heikkila has led and participated in several interdisciplinary research and education initiatives funded by the National Science Foundation and private foundations. She also serves on California’s Delta Independent Science Board, advising on scientific programs that support adaptive management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Before joining CU Denver, she was an Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She holds an MPA and PhD from the University of Arizona.