Evan Prasky
Founder & CEO
Evan is an Army Veteran and Ph.D. student at UMass Amherst studying Environmental Conservation with a focus on complex socio-ecological interactions. His research investigates human-wildlife conflicts in aquatic ecosystems, particularly depredation, where a predator partially or wholly consumes an angler's catch while in the process of landing.
Evan has led multiple fuzzy cognitive mapping workshops with recreational anglers, fisheries managers, and scientists across the United States. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at the World Fisheries Congress.
The resource-intensive demands of this research—which can require teams of facilitators, significant budgets, and months of data processing—inspired him to create Get Causality.
Why I Built Get Causality
The Problem
During my Ph.D. research on shark depredation in recreational fisheries, I needed to understand how diverse stakeholders, such as charter-for-hire captains, recreational anglers, fisheries managers, and scientists, perceive this complex issue. Traditional surveys could tell me what they think, but I needed to understand how they think: the mental models, causal connections, and reasoning behind their perspectives.
Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) was the perfect methodology. In 2022, I helped facilitate a workshop in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with 22 charter-for-hire captains. In 2024, I led another workshop in Seattle with 21 scientists and fisheries managers from the U.S., Australia, and South Africa.
But each workshop required large teams, high budgets, and months of processing. Manually transcribing models and preparing figures took up most of my time, time that should have gone to analysis.
The Breaking Point
After my second workshop, I realized I was spending most of my time processing data instead of generating insights. As a researcher, I should focus on analysis rather than manual coding.
This barrier also prevents others from using FCM. The manual process is expensive and time-consuming. Automating tedious steps could open participatory modeling to more researchers.
The Vision
Get Causality was born from a simple idea: what if you could go from raw stakeholder responses to publication-ready analysis in hours instead of months?
I'm building the platform I wish I had when I started my research, a complete end-to-end solution that handles everything from survey design to automated network analysis to publication-quality visualizations.
Our Mission
Our mission is to accelerate and simplify stakeholder analysis, making it more accessible, rigorous, and reproducible. By empowering researchers to uncover not just what people think, but also the underlying thought processes that drive their perspectives, we aim to advance understanding and address the world's most complex challenges.
My Research
Current Work
I'm currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental Conservation at UMass Amherst, where I study the complex interactions between humans and wildlife in aquatic ecosystems.
Research Focus
My research focuses on shark depredation—where a predator consumes an angler's catch while landing—and its effects on conservation and fishing interests. I have led FCM workshops across the Gulf of Mexico and at international conferences, working with charter-for-hire captains, anglers, managers, and scientists.
Large-Scale Participatory Modeling: My research uses fuzzy cognitive mapping to capture how diverse stakeholders perceive complex socio-ecological systems. I've published peer-reviewed papers on FCM methodology, and my innovative techniques enable FCM to scale from tens of people to thousands.
Key Publications:
- "A Framework for Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping Workshops: Shark Depredation as a Case Study" - Prasky, E.G., et al. (Multi-institutional collaboration)
- Gervasi et al. (2023) - Applied workshop findings to fisheries management
- Drymon et al. (2022) - Local ecological knowledge from Gulf of Mexico anglers extracted using FCM techniques
Research Interests
- Fuzzy cognitive mapping and participatory modeling methodologies
- Human-wildlife conflicts in marine and freshwater ecosystems
- Stakeholder engagement and social-ecological systems
- Conservation policy informed by diverse stakeholder perspectives
- Mental models of ecological threats and management effectiveness
- Recreational fisheries management and angler perceptions
Research Experience
FCM Workshop Facilitation:
- April 2022: Gulf Shores, Alabama - 22 charter-for-hire captains across 5 Gulf states
- March 2024: Seattle, Washington - 21 fisheries scientists and managers from U.S., Australia, and South Africa
- Collaborated with institutions including Mississippi State University, Michigan State University, University of South Alabama, and Queensland Government Department of Primary Industries
Education
Ph.D. in Environmental Conservation (In Progress)
University of Massachusetts Amherst
M.S. in Marine and Environmental Science
Northeastern University
Military Service
Prior to my academic career, I served in the U.S. Army, where I developed leadership skills, discipline, and a commitment to service that continues to inform my approach to research and entrepreneurship.
Connect With Me
Google Scholar: View Publications
ResearchGate: Research Profile
LinkedIn: Professional Network
Email: [email protected]
Join Me in Revolutionizing Research
Get Causality is currently in beta. Join hundreds of researchers who are already on the waitlist to transform how we understand complex stakeholder perspectives.
Join the Beta Waitlist