He has also been a biographer of Hugh Nibley, a candidate for the Utah House of Representatives, and president of the Association for Mormon Letters.
After his mission, Petersen attended Brigham Young University (BYU), receiving his bachelor's degree in French and international relations in 1988.
[3] Petersen has been an intern for the U.S. House of Representatives, in the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and a Senior Information Specialist for the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress.
Petersen has been a lecturer in the honors program at BYU, and for the English and Humanities Departments at Utah Valley University, where he received a Faculty Excellence Award in 2006.
He opposed Republican Rebecca Lockhart on a platform of ethics and health care reform, as well as improved public education.