I am an environmental and human geographer. I apply environmental justice and political ecology lenses to study the intersection of climate change, urban sustainability, and societal transformation. My research focuses on how individuals, communities, and cities respond to global environmental change, and their different capacities for adaptation, resilience, transformation, and long-term sustainability. Specifically, I explore the impacts of uncritical climate solutions, resilience planning, and sustainability practices on marginalized communities.

This includes examining unjust disaster risk reduction strategies, managed retreat programs, water-consolidation schemes, tree-planting, blue-green infrastructure, renewable energy, and future city planning. I interrogate when, where, how, and why some of these solutions foster uneven development, promote gentrification, and increase social inequality, thereby exacerbating vulnerability in already underserved and disadvantaged communities.

I also examine social, economic, and political contexts as well as policies, community engagements, and institutional arrangements that allow just forms of adaptation and resilience to thrive. My scholarships and engagements are at the intersections of multiple scales: communities, cities, regions, and international levels.

In my work, I emphasize incorporating feminist, decolonial, and antiracist approaches and care ethics that can lead to more just, livable, and sustainable futures. I also advocate for justice-centered transformative ideologies that allow for articulating multiple and alternative trajectories of future socio-environmental and socio-economic possibilities, i.e., human-to-human and human-to-nature assemblages. This includes exploring unconventional approaches and partnerships such as the role of grassroots coalitions, cooperatives, social entrepreneurs, and small businesses in promoting a shareable economy, sustainable lifestyle changes, low-carbon development, and socially just resilience planning in cities.

Ruth is a Master of Analytical Finance Candidate at Emory University, holding a Bachelor’s honor degree in Accounting. Prior to pursuing her masters degree, she worked as a sales and trading analyst at Bank of America, where she covered various institutional investors and got exposed to the sustainable finance space. Ruth research centers around quantifying company specific environmental, social, and governmental factors to help individual investors make a more informed investment decision. She is currently working on building a second sustainable finance dashboard that effectively tracks financial instruments that aligns with various ESG/ corporate social responsibility matrices. She enjoys staying active by playing tennis and spending time at the gym.

Research Interests: Climate impact quantification, Corporate Social Responsibilities, ESG disclosure standardization, Climate risk financial materiality, Biodiversity, Renewable energy sources, Greenhouse gas emissions, and Waste management.

Jean Qian is a junior at Emory University who is pursuing a major in Political Science and a minor in Quantitative Sciences with intent to attend law school. Her experience as an undergraduate research assistant revolves around using interdisciplinary approaches for major public policy issues.

She has previously worked in the Emory Politics of Policing Lab to research domestic and international use of force powers. This upcoming year, she is excited to contribute to the Climate Resilience and Transformations Lab. As a South Floridian, she is inspired by equitable and community-centered goals for environmental justice. Witnessing the ways that law, policy, and governance can affect environmental and ecological well-being, Jean hopes to use her advocacy and academic interests to explore sustainable frameworks for future generations.

Alanna Finn is a second-year undergraduate student at Emory University pursuing a BS in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and a minor in Environmental Sciences. Her interest in Environmental Science was influenced by her extended stay in Dominica during the Covid pandemic, the small eastern Caribbean island that her family hails from. During her time there, she delved into investigating the potential impact of green debt relief in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Her exploration also extended to sustainable technologies, where she focused on initiatives like blue economy initiatives and eco-friendly agricultural practices to address environmental challenges and promote economic development. As a multi-disciplinary individual, Alanna also engages in Neuroscience research and is an avid marketer, creating video content for Emory’s social media channels. Alanna is driven by the desire to blend her diverse interests of neuroscience, environmental science, digital media, and business. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, interior decorating, traveling, and spending time with her family.

River Somerville is a first year at the Emory College of Arts and Sciences aiming to study Environmental Science and History. They are particularly interested in environmental justice as it pertains to community-based solutions that equitably tackle the climate crisis. Increasing access to organic farming/gardening, green spaces and everything in-between especially piques their fancy. Their biggest hopes, research-wise, include being mentored by more-seasoned, interdisciplinarity-oriented students and faculty and gaining the tools and positive attitude to continue such applicable studies for many years to come. They also excitedly anticipate merging academics with getting to know Atlanta and its people!

Anissa is a first-year undergraduate student and Woodruff Scholar in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Science on the Social Science and Policy track. She is interested in how political, economic, and social frameworks apply to environmental science and the climate movement, and she has experience with promoting equity in institutions in a sustainable manner. She has previously worked as a research intern at Boston University School of Public Health, where she conducted a systematic review with the CHAIR-India project that focused on the health effects of air pollution and climate-related disasters. She has also served as the New England Field Representative for the nonprofit Our Climate, where she helped to write science-based climate policy and lobby elected officials. At Emory, she plans to focus on promoting community-based and participatory research concerning environmental justice and greenspace, in hopes of informing policy in that realm.

Jake is in the class of 2025 from Washington, DC majoring in Environmental Sciences and History. He is deeply passionate about the relationship between sustainability, resilience, and the built urban environment. His work focuses on land use issues and their connection to United States History.

Jake Weissman is in the class of 2024 from Cleveland, Ohio majoring in Environmental Science and Political Science. He is impassioned by the association between ecosystems and urban environments, as well as resilience planning, transportation planning, and sustainability. His work focuses on ecosystem services in cities across social and political issues.

Axcelle Campaña, Masters Student
(he/him/his and they/them/theirs)

Research Interests: Political ecology, community self-determination, just transition technologies, transformative systems change, participatory modeling, regenerative economies, coupled social-ecological systems

Research Interests: Indigenous-led conservation, equity-based resource management, and climate resilience and migration

Research Interests: Urban Political Ecology, Environmental Justice, Equity in Socio-Ecological Systems, Anti-Displacement Strategies, Just Transitions, Participatory Mapping, GIS

Research Interests: Community Resilience and Disaster Preparedness of Manila, Philippines, Racial Capitalism, Urban and Cultural Geography