MY PROJECTS & INTERESTS
VISION FOR MY FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS:
COMMUNITY-ENGAGED INTERDISCIPLINARY PRAXIS
Building trust & authentic relationships, using culturally sensitive strategies, consensus decision-making, & reflexiveness
COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING
Train students to engage with social and environmental justice
Increase retention & recruitment of underrepresented minority students
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Study urban environmental injustices centered on water, air, land, & ecosystems
Co-create strategies for exposure assessment & report-back
UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Establish long-term mutually beneficial partnerships
Create space for Indigenous communities & decolonized research practice
MY EXPERIENCE
MOBILE-LEAD TESTING UNIT
I am committed to conducting community-driven research that has a real-world impact. My latest project involved working with the Newark Water Coalition, a grassroots organization, to measure household lead exposure sources in 315 homes in Newark, New Jersey. Through our findings, we are working to create local and culturally-appropriate strategies to reduce exposure and safeguard public health.
SEE THE WORK OF THE NEWARK WATER COALITION
SEE THE WORK IN THE NEWS:
NextCity
YOUTH MENTORSHIP
I am committed to supporting young people in achieving their academic goals. With the Newark Water Coalition and Peoples Public Lab, I am leading a youth mentor-mentee program, the Waterbender Scholars Program, that provides students with the support, guidance, and resources they need to succeed in college. Our program pairs students with experienced mentors who are dedicated to supporting and nurturing students' academic progress, professional development, and mental well being.
We have 5 students who are going to college in the fall and they will be our inaugural cohort.
YOUTH PROGRAMMING GOALS
The Waterbenders Scholars Program goals are:
1) workshops run by academic partners (college students particularly those who are from Newark and/or members of the Newark Water Coalition, PhD students, and professors) to support students through applying for college, entering college, and workshops on time management, financial planning, and building resumes throughout their academic careers.
2) A mentor-mentee program
3) Lastly, we will provide paid internship and research opportunities for the cohort to gain experience doing community-driven work.
PAST RESEARCH
Throughout my career, I have conducted research on various topics related to clean drinking water and technology. My past research includes studies on corrosion-control of lead pipes and developing predictive machine learning models for lead exposure. You can find more information about my research work on my CV.
PEOPLES PUBLIC LAB
I recently co-founded a non-profit organization to help support these initiatives. See our work here: https://www.peoplespubliclab.org/
GRANT WRITING
I have experience writing successful grant proposals for both academic and non-profit projects.