CONGRATS to our 2021 Summer EJ Graduate Student Research Fellows!:
Toxic Soil: A threat to urban agriculture and food security in marginalized communities by Alexis Wilson
Alexis Wilson (she/her) is a second year PhD student in the Department of Earth System Science, a Graduate Public Service Fellow, and Graduate Fellow for the “Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area” Haas Center initiative. Her passion lies in understanding and combating environmental racism and climate injustices on local and global scales. Alexis’ current research focuses on identifying and remediating soil contamination in urban gardens, particularly in marginalized communities in the Bay Area. Her goal is to provide information to community members about the health of their soil, potential contamination, and options for remediation. She is pursuing this work in partnership with local environmental organizations and centering community-identified needs in the research process. She will use an interdisciplinary approach to advance our understanding of the important intersection of soil biogeochemistry, environmental justice, and food security, global issues becoming increasingly important.
Reimagining Just Resource Governance and Renewable Energy Transitions in Mexico by Zoe Vangelder
Zoe Vangelder is a 2nd year PhD student in the Anthropology department. Their research examines how agrarian indigenous social movements and allied solar engineers are articulating a vision for a just transition, empowering Mexico’s rural and indigenous communities to appropriate renewable energy technologies and reorient national conversations around energy use. They ask how these technopolitical encounters between indigenous activists and solar engineers might be articulating a new resource governance paradigm. Zoe’s work this summer will explore the mechanisms that enable the meaningful involvement of all people in the development and implementation of environmental policy, and asks how new stakeholders are reimagining the arts of democratic eco-governance to facilitate a just transition.
An Ethnographic Case Study of Hong Kong’s Anti-Land Reclamation Movement by Shan Huang
Shan is a 6th year PhD student in the Anthropology department whose dissertation examines how top-down developmental schemes in Hong Kong are confronted by grassroots actions aimed at promoting alternative urban futures. His work this summer will include completing and refining a chapter of his dissertation that focuses on the Farm to Table, an NGO-led project aimed at building an “agricultural community” on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Farm to Table is specifically invested in concretely and collaboratively envisioning the possibilities of urban-rural cohabitation that are both socially just and environmentally friendly. Shan’s work seeks to understand what Farm to Table staff and affiliates do in local community to make these environmental and social visions tangible and participatory for both local residents and incoming citizens.
Understanding Social Drivers and Barriers to Sustainable Mobility in Sonoma County by Sita Syal & Nora Hennessy
Sita is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Mechanical Engineering department, whose work focuses on quantifying human influence and equity in sustainable energy systems models through an integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. Nora is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Energy Resources Engineering department whose research focuses on equity and environmental justice in the energy transition. Together, as part of the Decommissioning ICE Vehicles (DIVE) research lab led by Dr. Margot Gerritsen, they are working to understand access to clean mobility benefits in Sonoma County. Their work this summer will involve engaging the low income and Latinx communities of Sonoma County in interviews to understand the transportation needs of the community and the barriers to electric vehicle adoption and removal of conventional vehicles from the road in these communities. They are working with Alegria De La Cruz, the county’s Chief Equity Officer, Efren Carrillo, Director of Government Relations and Co-Director of Housing Development for Burbank Housing, and Karen Eggerman, DIVE project partner and Partner at Tensleep Advisory.
Alexis Wilson (she/her) is a second year PhD student in the Department of Earth System Science, a Graduate Public Service Fellow, and Graduate Fellow for the “Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area” Haas Center initiative. Her passion lies in understanding and combating environmental racism and climate injustices on local and global scales. Alexis’ current research focuses on identifying and remediating soil contamination in urban gardens, particularly in marginalized communities in the Bay Area. Her goal is to provide information to community members about the health of their soil, potential contamination, and options for remediation. She is pursuing this work in partnership with local environmental organizations and centering community-identified needs in the research process. She will use an interdisciplinary approach to advance our understanding of the important intersection of soil biogeochemistry, environmental justice, and food security, global issues becoming increasingly important.
Reimagining Just Resource Governance and Renewable Energy Transitions in Mexico by Zoe Vangelder
Zoe Vangelder is a 2nd year PhD student in the Anthropology department. Their research examines how agrarian indigenous social movements and allied solar engineers are articulating a vision for a just transition, empowering Mexico’s rural and indigenous communities to appropriate renewable energy technologies and reorient national conversations around energy use. They ask how these technopolitical encounters between indigenous activists and solar engineers might be articulating a new resource governance paradigm. Zoe’s work this summer will explore the mechanisms that enable the meaningful involvement of all people in the development and implementation of environmental policy, and asks how new stakeholders are reimagining the arts of democratic eco-governance to facilitate a just transition.
An Ethnographic Case Study of Hong Kong’s Anti-Land Reclamation Movement by Shan Huang
Shan is a 6th year PhD student in the Anthropology department whose dissertation examines how top-down developmental schemes in Hong Kong are confronted by grassroots actions aimed at promoting alternative urban futures. His work this summer will include completing and refining a chapter of his dissertation that focuses on the Farm to Table, an NGO-led project aimed at building an “agricultural community” on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Farm to Table is specifically invested in concretely and collaboratively envisioning the possibilities of urban-rural cohabitation that are both socially just and environmentally friendly. Shan’s work seeks to understand what Farm to Table staff and affiliates do in local community to make these environmental and social visions tangible and participatory for both local residents and incoming citizens.
Understanding Social Drivers and Barriers to Sustainable Mobility in Sonoma County by Sita Syal & Nora Hennessy
Sita is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Mechanical Engineering department, whose work focuses on quantifying human influence and equity in sustainable energy systems models through an integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. Nora is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Energy Resources Engineering department whose research focuses on equity and environmental justice in the energy transition. Together, as part of the Decommissioning ICE Vehicles (DIVE) research lab led by Dr. Margot Gerritsen, they are working to understand access to clean mobility benefits in Sonoma County. Their work this summer will involve engaging the low income and Latinx communities of Sonoma County in interviews to understand the transportation needs of the community and the barriers to electric vehicle adoption and removal of conventional vehicles from the road in these communities. They are working with Alegria De La Cruz, the county’s Chief Equity Officer, Efren Carrillo, Director of Government Relations and Co-Director of Housing Development for Burbank Housing, and Karen Eggerman, DIVE project partner and Partner at Tensleep Advisory.
*NEW* Environmental Justice Graduate Student Research Fellowship - Summer 2021
(Applications were due 11:59pm PST on April 15th)
The Stanford EJWG pleased to announce a new Environmental Justice Graduate Student Research Fellowship for Stanford students.
This $5,000 fellowship will support up to four Stanford graduate students (master’s and PhD level) with summer research in 2021. Applications are due on April 15. While centering environmental justice communities is important, the research may or may not be “community-engaged” at this time.
This fellowship has been made possible through a Stanford Sustainability Seed Funding grant awarded to the EJWG to “seed” initiatives that can be undertaken in the new school of sustainability, which is currently under development at Stanford.
The fellowship will support scholarly research and research training that relates to both:
More information on the fellowship opportunity and application materials are available here. Please submit your application through this form by 11:59pm PST on April 15th.
Please direct any questions to Sibyl Diver [email protected] on behalf of the EJWG Coordinating Council, with a copy to [email protected].
(Applications were due 11:59pm PST on April 15th)
The Stanford EJWG pleased to announce a new Environmental Justice Graduate Student Research Fellowship for Stanford students.
This $5,000 fellowship will support up to four Stanford graduate students (master’s and PhD level) with summer research in 2021. Applications are due on April 15. While centering environmental justice communities is important, the research may or may not be “community-engaged” at this time.
This fellowship has been made possible through a Stanford Sustainability Seed Funding grant awarded to the EJWG to “seed” initiatives that can be undertaken in the new school of sustainability, which is currently under development at Stanford.
The fellowship will support scholarly research and research training that relates to both:
- The environment, defined broadly as the places where we live, work, and play; and
- Social justice movements working to address deeply rooted histories of structural inequity, violence, and racism against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) communities, and other groups that have been made marginalized through social hierarchies.
More information on the fellowship opportunity and application materials are available here. Please submit your application through this form by 11:59pm PST on April 15th.
Please direct any questions to Sibyl Diver [email protected] on behalf of the EJWG Coordinating Council, with a copy to [email protected].