Community Engaged Research

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Samuel Mahugnon Ahossouhe

Samuel Mahugnon Ahossouhe is a PhD student in the field of environmental sciences at the International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He also holds a master's degree in water and sanitation engineering and has conducted various studies related to the sanitation value chain, inclusive urban sanitation, and other related areas.  Ahossouhe is a co-author of a book chapter titled "Sanitation Services" in the book "Integrated Functional Sanitation Value Chain: The Role of the Sanitation Economy," and he has contributed to an article on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) as well as the "Global Report on Sanitation and Wastewater Management in Cities and Human Settlements." He has a strong interest in community development and previously worked on the Water, Climate Development, Environment, and Gender Equality (WACDEP-G) program at the Global Water Partnership in West Africa (GWP-WA) as a Technical Assistant. His participation in the USAID's Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) program and the Next Generation Leaders (NGL) program of the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities has enabled him to hone his skills in developing and leading initiatives of major community importance.
Currently, Ahossouhe is conducting research on the valorization of urban resources for the development of a circular economy in low-income African countries, especially in Burkina Faso. The main expected outcome of his research is to provide scientific knowledge on the potential of urban mine valorization to promote the circular economy, and to guide decision-makers and investors on the business models to implement in their valorization activities for a better economic development. In this way, Ahossouhe's research contributes to economic development and the reduction of environmental and health issues linked to e-waste management within the Burkinabe communities.

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Elvis Akomoneh

Elvis Akomoneh is the Director of Access Care Institute, an organization engaged in education, research and healthcare service delivery to the underserved in Cameroon. He holds a PhD in Microbiology and is actively engaged in research and teaching. He is also a lecturer at the University of Bamenda, Cameroon. Elvis actively embeds civic engagement in his teaching and research. He is an active player in the fight against highly prevalent communicable diseases in his communities like HIV, malaria, typhoid, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections as well as a promoter of access to basic healthcare services and reproductive health education and care.

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Miguel Angel Castañeda Barahona

Miguel Angel is a professional in Languages and Cultural Studies from Colombia. He is a researcher on migration, climate change, humanitarianism, development policies, and decoloniality, and collaborates with various social and activist processes in Colombia against mining, and in defense of collective goods, and food sovereignty of the people. He is currently attending Bard College, where he is pursuing a Master's degree in Human Rights and the Arts.

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Patricio Belloy

Patricio’s work explores how environmental, energy, and climate policies can concurrently support community development by means of needs-based approaches that promote knowledge co-production and meaningful engagement with local anchor institutions. He earned a BBA from Austral University of Chile, a Master of Science in Public Policy from UMass Boston, and a Master of Arts in Global Studies from Leipzig University in Germany and Wroclaw University in Poland. Patricio is a former MIT Mel King Community Fellow and a current PhD Candidate in Public Policy at UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School.

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Diana Ordoñez Castillo

Ordoñez Castillo is a PhD candidate in Development Studies at Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. She holds a BA in Industrial Design (2002), and an MSc in Social Studies of Science (2019). As a researcher, she studies the relationship between museology, memory, emotions, gender, and peacebuilding, from feminist and social studies of science perspectives. Her doctoral thesis “Community-based museums of memory in Colombia: perspectives from emotions, women and peacebuilding” is based on a participatory approach to studying two communitarian museums in the Colombian Caribbean. Currently, she is ‘Museums for Peace’ Co-PI, a creation-research project that designs an exhibition that travels through areas of the country affected by armed conflict, promoting dialogue between academia and memory initiatives on the role of community museums as instruments of social change.

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Félix Díaz

Félix Díaz (BSc Psychology, 1991, PhD Psychology, 1994) is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the American University in Bulgaria. He formerly taught for 18 years at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). He has published a monograph on the problematics of body image, a text on qualitative assessment techniques in Speech and Language Therapy, a guidebook for dementia caregivers, and dozens of papers and chapters in the fields of mental health, qualitative social research methods and analyzing common and impaired conversation. He is interested in applying qualitative methods to understanding and improving life with disability.

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Sameh Hallaq

Sameh Hallaq is an assistant professor in the economics program at Al-Quds Bard College, Al-Quds University. Hallaq is a Research Associate at Levy Economics Institute at Bard College, New York (USA). He obtained his PhD in economics at the University of Wuppertal, Germany, in 2019. His research focuses on the effect of conflict on human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes.

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K.

K. is a social researcher, facilitator, and curator who works at the intersection of social sciences, activism, and arts. Her interests include collaborative and transdisciplinary methods, post-socialism, mobility, performance, and citizenship. K. is currently completing her M.A. degree in Human Rights and the Arts at Bard College, New York.

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Heather Legodi

Heather Legodi is a qualified dietitian, registered with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa. She is currently Head of the Department of Human Nutrition and Senior Lecturer at University of Pretoria. She qualified with a PhD in Paediatric Nutrition from theUniversity of Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa. Her research focused on the dietary and lifestyle practices of rural and urban adolescents in South Africa. She obtained a Diploma in Public Health from the University of Pretoria and her Masters Degree from the University of Alabama A&M in the USA. Her Masters thesis focused on the nutritional composition of Shiitake mushrooms. She is an alumnus and former faculty member of the African Nutrition Leadership Programme (ANLP). She is currently the Chair of the Community Engagement Committee within the School of Health Care Science and a member of the Faculty of Health Sciences Teaching and Learning Committee at the University of Pretoria. She also represents the Faculty at the University of Pretoria Community Engagement Forum. Her passion for working with and empowering diverse communities have led her to engage and collaborate with multiple disciplines and stakeholders in making a significant difference.  We cannot intervene or assist clients and communities without understanding what factors influence their eating behaviors.

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Catalina Muñoz

Catalina Muñoz (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is Associate Professor of history at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. Her most recent publication is the book A Fervent Crusade for the National Soul: Cultural Politics in Colombia, 1930-1946 (Lexington Books, 2022). She was appointed Visiting Research Scholar at Princeton University’s Program for Latin American Studies for spring 2023, Member of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, NJ) in the fall 2022, and was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Humanities Action Lab in Rutgers University-Newark in the fall 2017.  A public historian, her research and practice examine the relevance of historical thinking and long term analysis to transitional justice, a field traditionally dominated by lawyers. In the context of the 2016 peace accords in Colombia, Muñoz co-founded "Historias para lo que viene," a public history project that has implemented programs to enrich the public debate about peace in Colombia from a historical perspective.

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Saw Yan Naung

As a teacher at Parami University-Community Higher Education Initiative (CHEI), Saw Yan Naung creates a safe, welcoming, and comforting learning environment that facilitates students to question and grow. His journey in the field of education is marked by a genuine dedication to empowering students with knowledge and skills that extend beyond the classroom. Prior to his role at Parami University-CHEI, he served as a Senior Program Instructor and Program Coordinator in non-profit organizations within Myanmar's education sector. In these capacities, he developed and facilitated courses for youth, coordinated with diverse stakeholders, including tea-shopowners/managers, local CSOs, teachers, and out-of-school children and youth (OOSCYs) from tea-shops/restaurants and underprivileged communities, and set up non-formal education (NFE) and vocational education classes for OOSCYs, contributing significantly to the enhancement of the quality and accessibility of non-formal education in Myanmar. As an educator, Saw Yan Naung believes in the transformative power of education to unlock the potential within each student. As a commitment to continuous learning and professional development, he is currently pursuing an MA in English Language Teaching (ELT) from Thammasat University in Thailand. He is a life-long learner and believes that one should do what one can for the betterment of the community and the world. When not teaching, Saw Yan Naung can be found at home either playing guitar or watching a movie.
As a teacher at Parami University-Community Higher Education Initiative (CHEI), Saw Yan Naung creates a safe, welcoming, and comforting learning environment that facilitates students to question and grow. His journey in the field of education is marked by a genuine dedication to empowering students with knowledge and skills that extend beyond the classroom. Prior to his role at Parami University-CHEI, he served as a Senior Program Instructor and Program Coordinator in non-profit organizations within Myanmar's education sector. In these capacities, he developed and facilitated courses for youth, coordinated with diverse stakeholders, including tea-shopowners/managers, local CSOs, teachers, and out-of-school children and youth (OOSCYs) from tea-shops/restaurants and underprivileged communities, and set up non-formal education (NFE) and vocational education classes for OOSCYs, contributing significantly to the enhancement of the quality and accessibility of non-formal education in Myanmar. As an educator, Saw Yan Naung believes in the transformative power of education to unlock the potential within each student. As a commitment to continuous learning and professional development, he is currently pursuing an MA in English Language Teaching (ELT) from Thammasat University in Thailand. He is a life-long learner and believes that one should do what one can for the betterment of the community and the world. When not teaching, Saw Yan Naung can be found at home either playing guitar or watching a movie.
 

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Mia Sasaki

Mia Sasaki currently works as faculty of General Education at Parami University. Sasaki's first years as an educator were with Teach for America, serving as a teacher in an inner-city school. After studying International Education Development at University of Pennsylvania, she had the honor of working with students from across Asia, teaching in Myanmar, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Prior to Parami, she worked as the Academic Lead for American English Myanmar-Parami English Language Initiative. She has published papers on education in emergencies and on migrant learning centers along the Thai-Myanmar border. Sasaki's work stems from the belief that students can and do shape a better future.

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Jazmín Puicón

Jazmín Puicón is an Assistant Professor of History at Bard Early College in Newark, New Jersey. She is an historian of modern Latin America with a specialization in Women’s and Gender History. Her research focuses on popular democracy, Afro-Colombian women, and working-class culture in urban Colombia. Puicón has received support from OSUN, the Mellon Foundation, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (NYU), and the International Education Fund Grant (Union College-NY) to conduct research in Colombia on oral history and political violence. She has received recognitions from the NAACP and the State of New Jersey's Amistad Commission as well as awards and prizes for her work and contributions, such as the Mildred Barry Garvin Prize and Rutgers University School of Graduate Studies’ Excellence in Outreach and Service Award.  She was previously a teaching fellow at the Pulitzer Center and the Honors College at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and is currently an OSUN CLASP Fellow.

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Seyfe Tareke Woldehiwot

Seyfe Tareke Woldehiwot, an Ethiopian Electrical Engineer specializing in power systems, currently serves as a senior lecturer at Mekelle Institute of Technology (MIT), Mekelle University. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Mekelle University and a Master's degree in Electrical Power Engineering from Defense University in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Woldehiwot's expertise encompasses a wide spectrum of electrical engineering, including power system design, analysis, renewable energy integration, power electronics, energy storage systems, power quality analysis, and project management.
Apart from his teaching commitments, Woldehiwot actively engages in practical projects related to power systems, showcasing his dedication to applying theoretical knowledge. Notably, he served as a project co-principal investigator for an initiative on optimizing capacitor allocation in the Mekelle Distribution System. Additionally, he led a significant project assessing power interruptions in the Mekelle Distribution Network, demonstrating his commitment to addressing practical challenges in power systems.