Fellows List
Kemet Azubuike
Kemet Azubuike resides from Dayton, Ohio and is currently a graduate student at Howard University studying sociology with concentrations in environmental, urban, and economic sociology. Kemet enjoys reading, helping organize communities, watching documentaries, mentoring, meeting new people, and playing a good game of basketball. Kemet plans to use this fellowship experience to aid in his understanding of the socioeconomic effects of renewable energies on low-income communities.
Foundation Sponsor:
11th Hour Project (Schmidt Family Foundation)
Host Organization:
Vote Solar
Reflection Entry:
Ashley Bell
My name is Ashley Bell and I am a Ph.D. Student at Tulane University through the school of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. I am originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and completed both my Bachelor and Master degrees at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The original life was to be a veterinarian, however after completing a study abroad program in South Africa, I realized that my degree could be better used working towards improving public health via environmental health. My passion within environmental health is environmental justice. The merging of social and environmental issues is right up my alley because I wholeheartedly believe that quality of health should not be geographically or status dependent. In my spare time I like to listen to music, read a book (that’s not school related), play with Mylo (my mini dachshund), or sleep.
Foundation Sponsor:
Island Foundation
Host Organization:
New England Grassroots Environmental Fund
Reflection Entry:
Cheryl Bennett
Cheryl Bennett is enrolled in the Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management at the Milano School where she is positing sustainable food systems as a driver of environmental conservation. Agriculture is the largest interface humans have with the environment yet the current industrial agriculture model is based on a linear economy which views waste management and social costs as externalities and not part of production costs. And that is a problem.
Foundation Sponsor:
New York Community Trust
Host Organization:
The Nature Conservancy
Lauren Beriont
Originally from the shores of New Jersey, and with a background in environmental science, I am currently pursuing a Masters in Macro Social Work at the University of Michigan to better work at the intersection of equity and the environment. I am interested in helping fundamentally re-imagine the way people can work together in mutually beneficial ways for community well-being for all.
Foundation Sponsor:
Pisces Foundation
Host Organization:
Pisces Foundation
Reflection Entry:
Sindhu Bharadwaj
Sindhu is an MS student in Environmental Justice and Policy at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources & Environment (SNRE). She received a BA from New York University in Politics and Cultural Studies. At SNRE, Sindhu focuses on developing policy frameworks and recommendations to address issues at the intersection of environment and social inequality in urban contexts. Her professional background is in communications.
Foundation Sponsor:
Barr Foundation
Host Organization:
Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth
Tianna Bruno
I am a Ph.D. student in Geography at the University of California - Davis from Houston, Texas. My research interests include environmental justice and critical race studies. Particularly, I hope to examine state-society relations and how the state engages in activities regarding the uneven distribution of environmental burdens and benefits in the urban setting with the use of mixed-methods. Other than my research, I really like doing conservation work with youth.
Foundation Sponsor:
11th Hour Project (Schmidt Family Foundation)
Host Organization:
Center on Race, Poverty, and Environment
Reflection Entry:
Mayra Cruz
Mayra Cruz is the Climate Resilience Program Manager at Catalyst Miami. She manages CLEAR (Community Leadership on the Environment, Advocacy, and Resilience) Miami, which provides social justice, community organizing, and climate resilience training to community members. She also supports Catalyst’s work on disaster preparedness and increasing clean energy opportunities for vulnerable communities. Cruz graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences with a Certificate in Climate and Health.
Foundation Sponsor:
Barr Foundation
Host Organization:
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Alexis Cureton
My name is Alexis Omar Cureton. Currently, I am a Graduate student receiving my MPA from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs with a concentration in Energy and Policy Analysis. I received my undergraduate degree from Clark Atlanta University in Sociology. I seek to gain a better understanding of the intersectionality of energy access as it pertains to energy equity being uses as a tool to achieve sustainable economic development for minority communities. My favorite quote is “We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity.” -Malcolm X
Foundation Sponsor:
11th Hour Project (Schmidt Family Foundation)
Host Organization:
Northwest SEED
Karina Herrera
My name is Karina Herrera. I graduated from Harvard University in 2013 with a degree in Environmental Science and Engineering. Following graduation, I served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA in my hometown, Fresno, CA. There I worked at Fresno State on increasing the number of underrepresented minorities receiving STEM degrees and at the nonprofit HandsOn on addressing low early education literacy rates through increased classroom volunteers. I am currently a first-year graduate student at the Bren School for Environmental Science & Management, UC Santa Barbara, specializing in water resources management.
Foundation Sponsor:
William Penn Foundation
Host Organization:
William Penn Foundation
Kassandra Hishida
I grew up in Fresno, CA and earned my BS in Environmental Science at Fresno State. Despite being situated in a city greatly impacted by air pollution, pesticide drift, and food insecurity, few of my science classes discussed the issues facing our own community members. I applied to graduate programs in order to better understand the connections between these social and environmental issues. I am currently studying food justice, environmental justice, and environmental education in the Environmental Studies Masterâs Program at the University of Oregon. My ultimate goal is to return to Fresno and support environmental justice work in my hometown.
Foundation Sponsor:
Barr Foundation
Host Organization:
Toxics Action Center