Dr. Michael Wilson

Dr. Michael Wilson

Policy Researcher, RAND

Michael T. Wilson, PhD is a Policy Researcher and Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND Corporation. Mike is a strategic planner that works with local, state, and federal governments to create frameworks and tools to facilitate participatory decisionmaking under deep uncertainty. His recent efforts include project selection methods for the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s 2023 Master Plan, climate equity analyses for the FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities and National Flood Insurance Programs, and natural hazard exposure studies for the Departments of the Army and Air Force. Through tabletop exercises, advanced spatial analytic techniques, and interactive data visualizations, Mike has also led foresight exercises for FEMA, the US Coast Guard, and the International Joint Commission. As a landscape architect, his prior professional experiences ranged from leading aspects large-scale economic development and urban infrastructure projects in Toronto, ON; St. Louis, MO; and Austin, TX to contributing to college campus and public playground designs across the Northeast US. He has also independently published peer-reviewed research on green stormwater infrastructure, emergency management, resilient building standards, and flood insurance. In Summer 2014 he was a Summer Fellow in the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, and since 2013 he has held a mayoral appointment to the Boston Conservation Commission, which regulates the city’s urban development in the floodplain as well as wetland, riverine, and coastal ecosystems.