Fellows

“This opportunity helped me to better understand resiliency in Virginia and, more broadly, afforded me new connections and opportunities.” 

Summer Responsibilities: As a member of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan team, Homa compared the plan’s prioritization approach with the Community Flood Preparedness Fund grant manual. She analyzed the different ways projects are grouped and the factors used to screen and evaluate them. She also assessed the flood exposure of state-owned buildings.

Background: Homa’s dissertation analyzed the rainfall-runoff relationship and mitigating flooding in the coastal watershed area with numerous wetlands and ponds. During the academic year of 2019-2020, she was a research assistant working on a project providing resilience solutions for homeowners (e.g., sea-level rise, impact and adaptation, preparing the properties, and innovative development of ideas for building safely near water). She has three peer-reviewed published papers to date and others in progress.

“Working with a state agency underlined the importance of gathering diverse stakeholders and of anticipating unintended policy consequences.” 

Summer Responsibilities: Margaret created a report showing that responsibly managed forests are paramount to protecting Virginia’s water from climate change, urbanization, and development. The report included multiple actions Virginia can take to use forests as green infrastructure to protect water resources. These range from changes to the Code of Virginia that facilitate innovative markets to outlining public outreach campaigns.

Background: Margaret is investigating the effect of the immune system on pancreatic and breast cancer, focusing on an immune system protein that functions as a tumor suppressor in a cell-specific manner. Her passion for science stems from its ability to create a more safe, just, and healthy future. Beyond the lab, she is also passionate about policy and advocacy work. Her excitement for and experience in both science and policy inspired her to pursue science policy as a career.

“The COVES fellowship taught me a great deal about how policies are made, challenges surrounding the policy-making process, and the importance of discussions that help guide it.”

Summer Responsibilities: As part of VIPA’s Smart Communities Initiative, Sunil met with representatives of companies supplying services to smart communities. He also researched the perspectives of partner companies, state/county officials, and the public, providing a basis for formulating statewide privacy policy applicable to such situations as deploying machine learning in public spaces.

Background: Working with ​Dr. Adwait Nadkarni, Sunil is focusing on the analysis and enforcement of security, safety, and privacy policies in modern operating systems. He is currently building and maintaining frameworks for smart home security and privacy policy analysis.

“My interactions with stakeholders gave me an insight into the formulation of legislation and expanded my perspective beyond that of a traditional scientist to view issues from a policymaker’s perspective.”

Summer Responsibilities: Nikita investigated the need to support basic research at Virginia’s public universities. Her report entailed examining existing laws, policies, and practices and conducting interviews with government leaders, universities’ chief research officers, private sector CEOs, and association leaders. She contextualized and communicated scientific information to Virginia’s policymakers.

Background: Nikita is interested in bridging the gap between policy and science. As an avid nature lover, she gained an interest in promoting sustainability through social science research. She is now studying ways to assess sustainability in higher education as well as the challenges faced by various universities to promote sustainability literacy on campus. She has a keen interest in evidence-based policymaking and hopes that her research will aid policymakers to make laws that encourage sustainability literacy and culture within higher education.

“I’ve made great connections and gained new insights into the legal and policy structures behind science and technology in Virginia.”

Summer Responsibilities: Tara assisted JCOTS in managing three issues that came before it this summer: the Virginia Consumer Data Privacy Act, the Child Protection Online Bill, and the Virginia Academy Coastal Flooding Report. In the last month of the fellowship, she encouraged JCOTS to explore zero- emissions power generation through carbon-capture and storage technology.

Background: Tara’s recent work includes (1) being co-director of the Science Policy Initiative (SPI), (2) testifying to the Virginia General Assembly regarding Carbon Capture Bill (SB1374), (3) writing three science-policy memos addressing air pollution injustices and carbon dioxide removal (CDR), (3) publishing three op-ed’s, and (4) addressing US Congressional members with UCAR (2019) and AAAS-CASE (2021).

“As a result of the fellowship, I’ve formed long-term relationships with individuals in state government. Together, we plan to continue our work on legislation in the upcoming legislative session.”

Summer Responsibilities: Chelsea researched a variety of topics from a science and state policy perspective. They included environmental protections, campus sexual assault, public comment periods, and mental health policy. She also gained experience in taking policy from initial idea to draft legislation.

Background: Chelsea’s research interests include individual based modeling, social science, and policy. She is currently developing a model of basking shark behavior in Ireland. She is the president of the Conservation Marketing and Engagement Working Group. She is passionate about science outreach and education.

“As a COVES Policy Fellow, I was given the opportunity to apply the knowledge I have learned so far in my academic career in new and exciting ways in the policy sphere.”

Summer Responsibilities: Isis provided a framework for a state-wide, regional needs assessment for recovery services and helped launch an initiative to provide support groups for the recovery providers facing burnout as a result of the pandemic.

Background: Isis’ research interests are in the areas of legal status, parent-child relationships, systemic factors (e.g., public policy), immigration, immigration trauma, and overall adolescent health in Latinx mixed-status families. Isis has presented research at multiple national research organizations including NLPA, SRA, SRCD, AAHHE, and APA. She is currently the president of the Latinx Graduate Student Association at VCU where she aims to engage Latinx graduate students to community organizations.

“It was so exciting to be involved in research-based discussions about the struggles and successes of large-scale interventions for those most in need of services.” 

Summer Responsibilities: Janey compiled information related to racial equity and mental health and created a presentation for a Racial Equity Workgroup highlighting barriers to mental health care and disproportionate racial-ethnic group representation in diagnosis and treatment. She also aided in outlining training needs across departments.

Background: Janey’s research is focused on identifying resiliency factors in the context of complex, interpersonal trauma, investigating how discrimination-related stressors influence trauma outcomes and exploring long-term outcomes of chronic stress. She has had the opportunity to serve as a student clinician within community mental healthcare settings where she conducts assessments and therapeutic interventions with individuals, groups, and families. These experiences have informed her research and highlighted the need for community-based and systems-level care.

“I have a better understanding of how important it is to take a holistic approach to policy; it is never as straightforward as it appears.”

Summer Responsibilities: Adele used her statistical expertise gained as a graduate student to build a model showing how 30 different health factors affect Medicaid spending. Her findings will help the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee focus on alleviating the health factors that could yield potential cost savings.

Background: Adele’s dissertation uses a long-term dataset to assess factors influencing the demographic rates of Prothonotary Warblers, with a focus on climate change. She is passionate about effectively communicating science and currently has six publications: four in academic journals, one scientific report to the USFWS, one encyclopedia article, and a book overviewing the federal and state environmental review process for local government stakeholders.

“I learned not only to write accurately and concisely but also to write with respect, empathy, and a sliver of hope.”

Summer Responsibilities: Yezi worked as a legislative correspondent with constituents and started a research project on the demographics of the House of Delegates from 1965 to the present. Her analysis surfaced such events as the reemergence of Black delegates in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement.

Background: Yezi works with Dr. Benjamin Gill in the Biogeochemistry Lab. In her research, she utilizes geochemical proxies to understand paleoenvironmental changes and how these changes affected the evolution or extinction of life. Yezi is passionate about science communication and advocacy. She hopes to apply her research and communication skills in real-world policy advising.