I am interested in the complex spatial entanglements of imperialism and everyday economic life. I locate my research within political economy, agrarian studies, Black geographies, and postcolonial theory to ask questions about how novel financial technologies are acting in and being transformed by economic geographies shaped by empire.
Aldazia Green is a combined MSW/PhD student at UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare. She holds a BA in Psychology from Rutgers-University, New Brunswick. Her research interest centers on investigating the interactive effects of therapeutic treatments and medications on psychiatric symptoms and the reduction of criminal behavior among offenders with severe mental illness. Through her commitment to both research and practice, Aldazia aims to improve mental health treatment and criminal justice policy. In her role as a Data Science for Social Justice Fellow, Aldazia gained insight into the...
I am a current doctoral student in the School of Social Welfare. My research interests are in exploring the impact of neoliberal policies and privatization of education and healthcare on the quality of life and well-being of working-class BIPOC families. As a first-generation, Mexican graduate student, I am shaped by the experience of growing up in Salinas, CA to, then, immigrant, farm-working parents. However, my experience also exposed me to the realities of obtaining upward social and economic mobility in this country, and who these opportunities are, or are not, afford to. These...
Alma Juárez is a fourth-year DrPH candidate. Her research interests include using Causal Inference to analyze the impact of sexual violence on femicides in Mexico. She majored in Economics and Political Science in Mexico and has a MPP from the University of Chicago.
Before coming to UC Berkeley, she worked as an advisor to the Health Minister in Mexico and as a researcher at the National Institute of Public Health.
Senior Data Science Fellow 2024-2025, Data Science Fellow 2023-2024
Linguistics
I am a fifth-year PhD student in the Department of Linguistics with an areal interest in the Wintuan languages, traditionally spoken in the northern Sacramento Valley and now undergoing revitalization. My primary research interests are in leveraging archival recordings for the phonetic analysis of these under-documented languages, as well as designing tools to assist in their revitalization. I have worked as a linguistic consultant for the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians since 2020 and the Wintu Tribe of Northern California since 2022. I received my MA in linguistics from UC...
I'm passionate about promoting the crucial role of reading in learning a second/foreign language. I hope to bridge the gap between research and the language learning industry by translating research-based best practices to curriculum design and content development. I’m also interested in using my skills in experimental design, quantitative data analysis, and psychometrics to evaluate and improve education technology.
My research as a PhD student in the Geography Graduate Group with Emphasis in Computational Social Science at the University of California, Davis applies a multi-evidence-based approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to study social ecological systems. Using the case of Cannabis production in one of the largest cannabis-producing regions in the United States, I explore the (de)criminalization of the cannabis industry in remote rural social ecological systems, often situated in infrastructure-poor places where access to sanitation, energy, water,...
I am a mixed-methods Social Psychology researcher with 7+ years of experience, conducting research within academic institutions and non-profit organizations.
My research revolves around placing individuals traditionally excluded from psychological research at the forefront, particularly those who identify as BIPOC. Extant research on racially marginalized populations often perpetuates a colorblind racial ideology by emphasizing sameness between under-represented groups.
I operate in opposition to this assumption of homogeneity by examining the distinctive...
Elena Ojeda is a fifth year doctoral student in the Department of Economics. Her research lies in the intersection of macroeconomics, economic history and environmental economics. Prior to starting her doctoral studies, she worked as a Research Associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Geidy Mendez is a Ph.D. candidate in the Political Science department at the University of California-Irvine. Her work examines the role of transnational identity for Central American immigrants and their U.S. born children in the United States. She focuses her research on immigrants and their U.S. born children choice of political involvement via voting, protesting, social media, and interpersonal relationships. Geidy Mendez is a native of East Orange, New Jersey and hopes that her work furthers the dialogue of Central American-Americans identity and politics,...
