public scholarship & Creative projects
It is said in methodology that research has both descriptive and explanatory power. However, research also has pragmatic power. Scientific research should not only be conducted in non-extractive ways, but it should also prioritize its utility to the individuals and communities academia conducts research with. Furthermore, it should be easily accessible and usable to the public, as knowledge should not be gatekept by institutions.
In my own research, I aim to create public access through the way I write, where I publish, and how I disseminate knowledge through open source community and creative projects, as well as through my past work as a journalist and digital producer.
Storyatlas
Media is full of narratives. Some narratives are healing, and some are harmful. But always, media imprints narratives in society's collective memory. They become the first rough draft of our history. StoryAtlas was created to map narratives that matter.
StoryAtlas is a work-in-progress quantitative research project in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative and Lab for Education and Advancement in Digital Research at Michigan State University that aimed to map how news narratives spread geographically. Using natural language processing databases, GitHub, MapBox, and other open source resources, this project used quantitative, computational methods mixed with qualitative discourse analysis to explore how important news stories move across newsroom networks and build particular narratives around current events.
blue roots project
The United Nations projects that in the year 2030 nearly half of the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress if current climate change predictions persist. The Blue Roots Project aimed to shift how the world values this most precious resource. In collaboration with Circle of Blue, Project Wet Foundation, and the Center Emerging Media Design and Development at Ball State University, we asked for input from people around the world to help us understand what water-related challenges exist in their homes and countries and how the water crisis affects people on local levels.
The stories and solutions we collected over this year-long public engagement campaign were brought to the 2017 WATERSHED conference in Rome, Italy, sponsored by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture and Education. Through an art installation and various workshops, changemakers from across disciplines, countries, and institutions learned how public engagement can be used to understand diverse lived experiences to better tackle water and environmental challenges from the public.
journalism & Digital Production
As a former journalist and editor, I worked for local news organizations–in both print, radio, and television–to develop and tell stories about current events that informed the ways they engaged in civic life. Now, as a freelance writer, I translate scientific research for the general public.
Later, I used my skills and expertise in digital production to help non-profits tell public-facing stories in engaging ways. Some of these organizations included The Huntington Museum, P.S. Arts, and Health Story Collaborative.
I am a writer at heart and still deeply value the work I do with community organizations and media outlets to reach audiences and inform them about the issues they care about most.
Public scholars that inspire my work
volunteer & Service positions
