Featured Projects
Things I've Made or Worked On
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By my second year at RISD, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King keynote lecture series had spanned 10 years and 13 speakers. As one of the few annual campus-wide events, the MLK Speaker Series is a massive undertaking and in the three years I had been involved, it had taken a different form each year, adding new challenges and evolving, like expanding accessibility through livestream and committing to improved live captioning, which were lessons taken from the COVID years. Everything from the pre-show music choices to the speaker gifts were all carefully considered to celebrate the accomplishments and legacies of Black scholars, artists, writers, makers and performers who served as keynote speakers. The series was both an opportunity to teach and inspire both the community at RISD and its close partners throughout Providence, as well as a time of celebration and nourishment.
RISD Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (RISD news feature)
A range of campus-wide activities promoting social justice ended with an inspirational panel discussion and musical performance.
Studio Museum Director Thelma Golden Honors Martin Luther King at RISD (RISD news feature)
RISD’s 11th annual MLK Series keynote speaker addresses public art and the importance of creating space for Black artists.
Take Giant Steps (RISD news feature)
2022 MLK Series keynote speaker Eddie Glaude, Jr. invokes legendary jazz musician John Coltrane in a powerful and forthright call to action.
January 18, 2022Link to Keynote Address
The livestream of the MLK 2022 event had a remote audience of 326 with 1,163
views of the limited one week release of the recording.
MLK 2023 event had 366 in-person attendees.
RISD Filipino Affinity Group
RISD Filipino Affinity Group
Along with two Filipino faculty members and another member of staff, I co-authored a proposal for the informally organized RISD Filipino group to become a formally recognized affinity group in a pilot program that would fund annual gatherings to recruit and build community and foster professional mentorship and connections by hosting Filipino artists and academics, connecting students, current staff and faculty, and alumni. Given the small population of Filipino students on campus, it was important to connect them with mentors to help them navigate life in Providence. It was also a hope that the affinity group would legitimize opportunities for student shows and the group's efforts to foster diverse community spaces.
First Generation College Student Pre-Orientation Program, FGC POP
First Generation College Student Pre-Orientation Program, FGC POP
I was one of the foundational team members during the three year pilot for FGC POP, supporting the recruitment, finances, programming, and student leadership of cohort 2 in summer 2022 and cohort 3 in summer 2023. The program helped connect first generation students to a support system at an elite institution and acclimated incoming students to the rigors of the academic year with a curriculum tailored to overcome particular challenges faced by first gen students. I formalized the selection process for student leaders from previous cohorts or Project Thrive and liaised with campus partners to ensure meal plans, housing, and resources were available for students and peer leaders. And, crucially, I provided floating islands at their end of summer beach party, thereby ensuring a properly enriched college experience.
The Indigenous and First Nations Speaker Series was a commitment made by Social Equity & Inclusion to sponsor two speakers a year, not just to put on a public program, but also spend time at the RISD Museum, do studio visits, participate in classrooms, and have a chance to attend a luncheon with Indigenous students from both RISD and Brown, thereby having greater impact on students and with the campus community.
Indigenous and First Nations Speaker Series & Community Partnerships
Indigenous and First Nations Speaker Series & Community Partnerships
G. Peter Jemison (Seneca Nation, Heron Clan), On the Right Path-Milkyway, (video)
RISD Interior Architecture Students Propose Designs for Tomaquag Museum’s New Archival Center
Korina Emmerich (Puyallup), Indigenous Apparel Designers Urge RISD Students to Reject Fast Fashion
SEI Teaching & Research Postdoctoral Fellows Symposiums & Public Programming
SEI Teaching & Research Postdoctoral Fellows Symposiums & Public Programming
While the report was credited to the CARES Program Manager who took over after me, I was the one who prepared all the information in the report and drafted its first iteration (my copy remains intact to about page 20). My contributions included surveying the agencies on their response strategies, pulling appropriate interview quotes, and selecting the case studies highlighted in the report. The NYS COVID policy timeline starting on page 75 appears exactly as I had originally designed it.
Rising to COVID 19 Challenge
February 20, 2021Link to story
The "Emerging from Darkness: Making Space for Grief" was organized by The Sanctuary for Independent Media, co-created by the People’s Health Sanctuary program of NATURE Lab, and co-sponsored by Urban Grief, Troy 4 Black Lives, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Capital District, NAACP, North Central Little League, Team H.E.R.O., Troy Bike Rescue and NATURE Lab’s People’s Health Sanctuary.
In many cultures, gifts of food are often a balm to those experiencing a loss. We hope that the sweet treats can give a reprieve to the constant anxiety of this pandemic, which compounds many other existing economic systemic issues including food insecurity. We emphasize that these offerings are for anyone who wants them, regardless of need because everyone deserves something nice. Admittedly, C does the bulk of the baking while I coordinate the logistics and do a lot of cleanup. What recipes we choose is something we plan together. Truly, the epitome of a successful team effort.
In many cultures, gifts of food are often a balm to those experiencing a loss. We hope that the sweet treats can give a reprieve to the constant anxiety of this pandemic, which compounds many other existing economic systemic issues including food insecurity. We emphasize that these offerings are for anyone who wants them, regardless of need because everyone deserves something nice. Admittedly, C does the bulk of the baking while I coordinate the logistics and do a lot of cleanup. What recipes we choose is something we plan together. Truly, the epitome of a successful team effort.
C and I were featured for our baked goods contributions to the Free Food Box at Freedom Square in Troy which is apart of an art installation sponsored by The Sanctuary for Independent Media and other community orgs.
While the feature didn't cover it, since the Summer 2020 BLM protests, I have been more involved with community efforts towards direct giving and mutual aid. My background is in policy and I personally believe in incremental change via progressive legislation. However, in these unprecedented times during the pandemic, both C and I felt that folks in our community needed help now. So on top of donations to community orgs doing the work on the ground and more volunteering, we have been making food for bake sales benefiting nonprofits in Upstate NY, organizers and attendees at local protests, and the Free Food Box. Community building, making the effort to get to know and genuinely care for your neighbors, is the only way to build foundations of collective power.
Creative Partner: ACE & CapNY, Fall/Winter 2020
Creative Partner: ACE & CapNY, Fall/Winter 2020
Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy (ACE)'s Digital Magazine for the Capital Region
ACE Author Tag and Featured Articles:
CapNY Author Tag and Featured Articles:
I was one one of the founding editors of The New Scene, which was a reboot of The South End Scene, formerly Albany's longest running independent Black newspaper. I built the website and digital infrastructure, as well as volunteered my time as a managing editor for the paper.
Center for Law and Justice, August 2019
Center for Law and Justice, August 2019
During my time working at the Center for Law and Justice, I managed the majority of their social media, organized their website, and contributed to their publication of their 2019 survey report on public safety [right].
CFLJ Pathways to Reformative Change 2019.pdfCID Conference Packet.pdfGraduate Capstone Project, April 2018
Graduate Capstone Project, April 2018
Working with the Center for International Development and two of my MIA program mates, we organized an academic conference on the correlations between human trafficking and violent extremism and exploring how it could be dealt with on a policy level. My principle roll on the capstone project was creating all the visual materials for the conference, including organizing all the information on the CID website's event page, creating digital and physical advertisements, putting together the day-of presentation slideshow, and creating the information packet that was given out during the conference [left].
US Consulate Guangzhou, September 2017
US Consulate Guangzhou, September 2017
I was a part of the press team that filmed and photographed Ambassador Branstad's first visit to the consulate in Guangzhou.
I helped plan and put together this Hispanic Heritage Month event, including submitting the budget, coordinating decorations and educational materials, coordinating guest presenters, and doing the logistics for catering. With over 300 Chinese participants, it was the most well attended event that quarter, though I had already left China when it occurred.
Illuminated Maps: Cultural Geography Projects, Spring 2016
Illuminated Maps: Cultural Geography Projects, Spring 2016
While laid up recovering from an ACL reconstruction surgery after a tennis injury, I decided to make my rather simple map memorization project into an art project. I really enjoyed researching and reproducing regional Native art and indulge in the kind of details that made old timey maps worth looking at and to wonder over.
Mediums: Watercolor base map, marker and ink border illuminations, printed and penned map details on top tracer paper
Folk Literature Final Project, Spring 2013
A comic book I wrote and illustrated of common Filipino folk tales, superstitions, and myths which I grew up with. Folk Literature Final Project, Spring 2013
comic final.pdfLiterature Editing and Publishing, Fall 2012
Self-published collection of blackout poetry utilizing pages from the Clarkson N. Potter, 1960 edition of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes by William Baring S. Gould and created using Adobe Illustrate.Literature Editing and Publishing, Fall 2012
Sherlock Chapbook .pdfAERO Institute's Aeronautics Academy at NASA Ames: June-August 2012
AERO Institute's Aeronautics Academy at NASA Ames: June-August 2012
NASA Ames Academy Profile Book 2012.pdfI put together the Aeronautics Academy profile book which included bios of the team, journal entries from the research associates during the course of the 10 week program, and research project summaries of the viability of civilian tiltrotors, data from a renovated anechoic chamber, and an Alaskan airspace mapping application.
Nilo Poster.pdf"Research" poster presenting my work as the project manager for Ames Research Center's first Aeronautics Academy.
Karelian Bear Dogs are a primitive dog breed, bred for big game "hunting." Very independently minded, they make for very motivated working dogs. Ater a forensic anthropology class introduced a local team, they invited anyone interested to help train their search dogs which led to an interesting year of going out to the boonies to hike around for the dogs to find me or bestowing congratulatory pets after mock searches.
While I did obtain a HAM radio operator license from that time, mostly what I remember from that time was each dog's unique personalities. Laska and Star, the old timers, slowly and patiently led me around like they were teaching me how to run searches. Pavi was the burliest and would drag me at his hiking pace and then reward me during water breaks by pinning me with his front legs until he received the satisfactory amount of back scratching. River was young and eager to please, and whereas the other dogs were successfully taught not to disturb their rescue subjects and merely signal their handlers, River was determined to ensure I was alive and well by licking directly inside my ear until I cracked.
San Diego K-9 Search and Rescue, Volunteer Training
San Diego K-9 Search and Rescue, Volunteer Training
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