Laura Castro-Diaz, PhD (PI)
I am an Assistant Professor at the School for the Environment at UMass Boston. I am a sustainability scholar who conducts community-based research to address environmental injustices (Food, Water, and Energy). I employ diverse collaborative and community-based frameworks and methods to examine the implications and responses to injustices at different scales, from the individual to the global scale
Elinor Hanjian
Elinor is a PhD Student in the Castro-Diaz Lab. She received her Master of Science from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she studied local currency initiatives, and community health perspectives among stakeholders in the city of Syracuse. In this scholarship, Elinor developed skills in qualitative research methodologies, including community-based participatory research and deliberative Q-Methodology. Elinor’s research interest is the human dynamics surrounding offshore wind, including the environmental and energy justice components related to the industry.
Jeremy Green
Jeremy is a first-year Master’s student in Environmental Sciences, co-advised by Dr. Laura Castro-Diaz and Dr. Christian Rivera. He is interested in the complex social-ecological dynamics affecting environmental justice and ecological stewardship in Greater Boston, and he hopes to build on previous work with local nonprofits by studying best practices for equitable and impactful collaboration. In his free time, Jeremy enjoys watching sports, cooking and eating all kinds of food, and spending time in all the wonderful green spaces around the city.
Olivia Palmer
Olivia is an Environmental Sciences PSM student interested in energy and food access. She is currently working to analyze the environmental justice impacts of data centers on local communities.
Outside of UMass, Olivia works on environmental justice issues in the agricultural sector.
