Susan Mason, PhD
Email: susanmason@boisestate.edu
Susan (Mason) Clark works on regional and local issues. She currently works for the City of Grants Pass securing grant funding for city infrastructure, parks and public safety. Prior to moving to Grants Pass she worked for the regional transportation agency in Seattle, WA overseeing research projects and contracts. Her publications include 19 peer reviewed journal articles on topics of cooperation in regional policy, economic development and sustainability. She has also published three book chapters and one edited book with Sara Hughes and Eric Chu titled Climate Change in Cities – Innovations in Multi-Level Governance. Mason has also co-authored applied research reports on topics ranging from regional performance indicators, decline of mobile home living, public participation, and Collegiate Employment/Workforce Readiness. One of the publications was honored with an Idaho Smart Growth Award and another publication was a finalist for an Innovation Excellence Award in the category of Research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
In 2017 Mason completed her thirteenth year as a professor and public scholar. She also served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the School of Public Service in 2016-2017. In 2011, she founded the Master program in Community and Regional Planning and in 2006 she founded the Graduate Certificate program in Community and Regional Planning and directed the programs for six years. She organized and co-developed and in some cases initiated with local, regional and federal agencies 11 conferences and workshops on topics of interest to planners, developers, engineering professionals, local leadership, citizens, students and faculty.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Mason received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2004 and also earned a Masters in Public Policy Administration in 1999. While at the University of Missouri-Columbia she earned two Bachelors of Arts, one in Economics and another in Psychology in 1987. Mason also served in the Peace Corps in Honduras as community development extensionist from 1988-90.