RESEARCH
Here is a selection of some of my recent and ongoing projects
CLIMATE HAZARDS IN MOBILE HOME COMMUNITIES
Mobile home residents are often overlooked when it comes to climate and disaster planning and policies, yet are often highly susceptible to environmental hazards. I am collaborating with Dr. Katie Clifford and Dr. Colleen Reid on a community engaged, mixed methods study on the impacts of extreme heat and wildfire smoke air pollution on Colorado mobile home residents.
Our research uses low-cost air quality monitors and temperature sensors and in-depth interviews with mobile home residents to understand extreme heat and air pollution exposures and impacts. This research highlights how housing unaffordability and immigration policy intersect with environmental hazards to create increased precarity and exposure to environmental hazards in mobile home communities.
INCARCERATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE
In this research I examine the role of incarceration in shaping environmental inequalities. I collaborated with an interdisciplinary team at the University of Colorado Boulder Resilient Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RISE) group to examine environmental toxins and climate hazards in carceral facilities. Our research highlights a lack of attention to incarceration in environmental and disaster research and policy, and how people who are incarcerated are at higher risk of negative impacts from environmental hazards. You can read our research article here.
Another aspect of my current research examines the historical links between incarceration, labor, and environmental injustice. I do this in two ways. First, I am using archival records to investigate the ties between prisons and Indian Boarding Schools in Colorado, and how Indigenous youth in these Schools were forced into hard agricultural labor. Second, I analyze the role of early 20th century prison labor in Colorado in building scenic roads and highways, providing the foundation for a new economy of environmental tourism in the Rocky Mountain region. You can find my most recent article here.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND HEALTHCARE RESPONSE AFTER HURRICANE MARIA
I collaborated with Dr. Santina Contreras on a qualitative research project investigating how Puerto Rican healthcare workers used community networks in order to reach people in need of medical assistance after Hurricane Maria, who were often left without power or water for months after the hurricane.
Our research illustrates the importance of local actors with community knowledge during disaster response and recovery. However, we also highlight the limitations of local resources and the need for more investment in broader social safety nets and support. You can read our research article here.
You can also enroll in a training module I helped create on coping with the emotional challenges of research in crisis and disaster zones here.
