Professor Ernst is a faculty member of the Political Science Department at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Maryland. Professor Ernst teaches classes in environmental policy and American Government. He also represents University of Virginia's Center for Politics as a Senior Scholar in the area of environmental policy and directs the Environmental Leadership Program at Gettysburg College's Eisenhower Institute. Dr. Ernst received his Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. Dr. Ernst’s research focuses on the American political system and gives close attention to citizen influence over the environmental policy process. He has published six books and numerous academic articles. While his interdisciplinary research spans multiple academic fields, Dr. Ernst has developed a national reputation for his work in the area of environmental policy and natural resource management. He is currently researching the determinants of organizationational change in radical environmental groups, as well as issues related to environmental justice. His environmental policy books have been adopted in courses as diverse as a graduate seminar at Yale University’s School of Forestry, New York University’s School of Law, and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Geography and Environmental Engineering, in addition to dozens of public policy courses taught in political science departments throughout the country. His books have been highlighted in numerous media outlets, including The Washington Post, National Public Radio, C-SPAN, Voice of America, and a Frontline documentary. Ernst’s work has resulted in invitations to testify before Congress and to guest lecture at institutions such as Case Western Reserve, University of Virginia, Yale University, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Institute, and other centers of higher education. Professor Ernst has traveled around the world twice with the Institute for Shipboard Education's Semester at Sea Program and has served as the Chair of the Naval Academy's Political Science Department and the inaugural director of the Kohler Environmental Center.