Fransha Dace, PhD candidate, answers questions during a Black History Month panel discussion moderated by Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Rob Javonillo at Kroon Hall on February 27, 2024.
Black Environmentalists Discuss Their Research, Outcomes and Cultural Capital
The YSE community celebrated Black History Month with a panel discussion featuring four students who talked about their research on community cohesion, social-ecological landscapes of fear, portable water supply, and renewable energy access.
The highlight of Yale School of Environment PhD candidate Fransha Dace’s research into what role communities play in well-being and resilience has been going home to the South Side of Chicago and involving her community in her studies.
“I was able to study my community as a member of the community,” Dace said. “I hired retired folks, young people, custodians, and postal workers, all the folks that live in the South Side of Chicago. The people who are impacted by my research are the ones who can help inform the work that I'm doing.”
From left: Gabriel Gadsden, George Aniegbunem, Ambria McDonald (with daughter), and Fransha Dace speak on a YSE Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion panel at Kroon Hall on February 27, 2024.
Dace has been investigating climate adaptation efforts in two urban cities, Chicago and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to understand how to create better cohesive communities where members within a community support one another, especially during extreme weather emergencies. She was one of four YSE students, including fellow PhD candidates Gabriel Gadsden, Ambria McDonald, and master’s student George Aniegbunem' 25 MEM, who discussed their research and shared their thoughts during a Yale School of Environment Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion panel at Kroon Hall on February 27 on what it means to be a Black environmentalists.
Gadsden, the recipient of the 2023 Bormann Prize, is studying social-ecological landscapes of fear, theorizing why we see inequality in where and how ecological studies are done.
“I hope that there are policy implications, that the work is applicable to improving people’s everyday lives,” he said.
I'll be the first in my entire family history to complete a doctorate. That is truly why I’m here, doing the work in my hometown and hoping that some national policy change comes from this work.”
Ambria McDonald PhD candidate at YSE
McDonald's research investigates to what extent a correlation exists between community trust in government and blood lead levels in vulnerable populations and water distribution systems' Lead and Copper Rule violations.
“I'll be the first in my entire family history to complete a doctorate. That is truly why I'm here, doing the work in my hometown and hoping that some national policy change comes from this work,” McDonald said.
Aniegbunem, who is from Nigeria, is studying renewable energy access and is investigating how developers, regulators and financiers can work together to build renewable energy projects across Africa.
Biweekly, we highlight three news and research stories about the work we’re doing at Yale School of the Environment.
"In Africa, we have lots of renewable energy resources, and my desire is to see how we can explore all these resources to make the lives of the people better, to keep improving their lives," Aniegbunem said.
Following presentations about their research, the students participated in a panel discussion moderated by Rob Javonillo, YSE's assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Hearing their stories, what they're doing here, and what they want to do with the rest of their lives was a humbling experience. They are truly inspiring," Javonillo said.
In addition to their research, the students spoke about how they came to YSE, finding their place as Black environmentalists, and the advice they'd give to others.
“For me, Black joy is freedom," Dace said. "It's the freedom when 'fro is out, it's the freedom when my twists are in, it's the freedom to feel safe. It's the freedom to express, feel, live, and laugh.”
"I want to echo that; the first thing in my mind was not joy, but freedom, being able to be in this space, to know that I belong,” Gadsden said.
