Melissa McCracken

Melissa McCracken is an assistant professor of international environmental policy at The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She co-directs the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP), where she directs the Shared Waters Lab. She is also an affiliate at the Center for International Law and Governance (CILG) at Fletcher.

Her research focus is on international water policy and management, cooperation and conflict over shared surface and groundwaters, and conflict transformation surrounding environmental resources. Broadly, she supports interdisciplinary research and teaching for water policy and management. She is a trusted voice on hydropolitics, water diplomacy, and fresh water treaties, and her research has been published in numerous journals.

McCracken is a co-director of the Transboundary Freshwater Diplomacy Database at Oregon State University on projects to monitor hydropolitical tension and identify factors that contribute to potential conflict or cooperation, including research on international freshwater agreements, river basin organizations, and events over freshwater. Prior to joining Fletcher, McCracken was a post-doctoral scholar in the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, as well as the manager of the Transboundary Freshwater Diplomacy Database housed at Oregon State University.

McCracken sits on the International Water Law Academy Advisory Committee and the Scientific Committee of the International Lake Environment Committee.