A participatory and community-engaged initiative that encourages participants to reimagine the built environment through the lens of justice, equity, and inclusion. Through photovoice workshops and one-day sessions, the project engages young people, adults who have experienced system-involvement, and organizers in learning about design justice principles. Participants are able to share their personal experiences and creative insights through photographs, storytelling, memory, and dialogue. Together, these contributions allow us to generate actionable ideas for redesigning communities in ways that promote safety, dignity, and joy. Additionally, the project conducts interviews with organizers and formerly incarcerated individuals, amplifying their voices and highlighting the work of local advocacy organizations dedicated to transformative justice.

Learn more here.

A podcast and event series based in New Orleans, Louisiana, bringing listeners into the interior lives of the talented creatives who shape the culture of the city. Beyond the podcast, Shotgun Griot hosts exclusive events and gatherings that create opportunities for local creative professionals to share their work, reflect with their communities, and engage in meaningful dialogue about the ever-evolving landscape of their crafts.

Learn more here.

A series of workshops, facilitated virtually and in local gardens, designed to inform and strengthen our connections to the natural world and to each other. Each workshop offers information on the ways that crystals form and plants grow, offering strategies for interdependent community and personal growth.

Executed health assessments, developed policy recommendations, reported to stakeholders, and conducted community outreach and education for the successful Smoke-Free NOLA campaign. In January 2015, the city of New Orleans passed a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance protecting public spaces such as restaurants, bars, and casinos from secondhand smoke and secondhand e-cigarette vapor exposure. We organized a coalition of non-traditional partners, including New Orleans jazz musicians, bar owners, and casino employees, to build consensus among New Orleans residents and legislators for a citywide smoke-free policy.

Developed and managed the inaugural cohort of the LACaTS Community Scholars Program, with the goal of facilitating and increasing the capacity of community-academic partnerships to conduct community engaged research, ensuring mutual ownership of the processes and products. The program aligns academic research and community priorities, creating actionable outcomes.

Co-designer, interviewer, and co-author in the PEARL study, which sought to understand patient perceptions of the emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) HIV diagnosis experience as well as factors that may promote or discourage linkage to HIV care. We conducted in-depth interviews with patients (n=24) whose HIV infection was diagnosed in the ED/UC of a public hospital in San Francisco at least six months prior and who linked to HIV care at the hospital HIV clinic. Key linkage to care themes included the importance of continuity between the testing site and HIV care, hospital admission as an opportunity for support and HIV education, and thoughtful matching by linkage staff to a primary care provider.

Research assistant and interviewer for the Health of Philadelphia Photo-documentation Project, led by epidemiologist Carolyn Cannuscio, ScD. The project conducted participatory visual epidemiology utilizing photovoice, photo-elicitation, interviews, and participant observation to record the health priorities and concerns of Philadelphia residents.

Developed curriculum and facilitated workshops in public classrooms that combined instruction in music, writing, and history. Jazz musicians and poets conduct workshops in middle school humanities classrooms to unlock the proud history of jazz from a social, historical, and creative perspective.