Dr. Chess is an Associate Professor at Rutgers University in the Department of Human Ecology. An EPA STAR fellow from 1996 to 1997, Dr. Chess is the former president of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), an international professional society, provides a forum for those interested in risk analysis, including risk assessment, risk characterization, risk communication, risk management, and policy relating to risk at a local, regional, national, or global level. As a Science to Achieve Results (STAR) fellow, Dr. Chess worked on a doctoral dissertation at the State University of New York's School of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. Her research project entitled, "Risk Communication as an Organizational Adaptation: The Cases of Three Chemical Manufacturers," focused on how internal organizational factors influence corporate responses to outside stakeholders. Her publications include materials widely used by risk analysis practitioners in government and industry, including Communication with the Public: Ten Questions Environmental Managers Should Ask, and a manual for industry called Improving Dialogue: The Industry Risk Communication Manual. Dr. Chess now serves on the National Academy of Science's Committee on Public Participation and Environmental Decisionmaking. Prior to joining academia in 1987, Dr. Chess held positions in government and nonprofit environmental advocacy organizations. She is the former director of the Rutgers' Center for Environmental Communication.