Compton Mentor Fellowships
Fellowship Awards in 2002
Fellow: Rebecca Giordano (Clark University)
Project: Environmental Justice Documentary Video Project, Brooklyn, NY
Mentor: Elizabeth Yeampierre
Agency: UPROSE Youth Justice
Project Summary:
The purpose of the project is two-fold: to study and document air pollution
problems in the community of Sunset Park, a working-class Latino community of
100,000 in Brooklyn, NY; and to train neighborhood youth in video production
as a vehicle to document local environmental justice issues and community activism.
The project will have 3 dimensions: to research environmental justice issues
of Sunset Park (Rebecca’s home community); to assist local youth produce
a series of videos on local environmental issues; and to identify broadcast
venues for the videos.
Fellow: Robyn Long (Clark University)
Project: Expansion of the Definition of “Land Rights” Beyond the
Notion of
Territory, Israel-Palestine
Mentor: Lucy Mair
Agency: Grassroots International
Project Summary:
The project is designed to develop a U.S.-based land-rights campaign in order
to enhance public and policy-makers’ understanding of the nexus between
the environment and security of human rights in Israel-Palestine. This project
aims to expand the notion of land beyond ‘territorial control’ by
examining how land is fundamental to community building. A central question
of the project is: In what way(s) is community building contingent upon land
rights and the protection of human and environmental rights? Recognizing the
vital role Palestinian women play in their communities, Robyn’s research
and experiences will be coordinated with local women’s organizations.
Fellow: Caroline Loomis (Vassar College)
Project: Examination of Community Gardens and Agriculture for Neighborhood
Empowerment, San Francisco Bay Area
Mentor: Daniel Miller
Agency: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS)
Project Summary:
The purpose of the project is to identify the role community food production
can play in developing healthy, sustainable neighborhoods. Cooperating with
established community gardens in Berkeley and Oakland, California, Caroline
will work to understand the practical and policy implications of urban agriculture
as a tool for social justice.
Fellow: José Medina (Vassar College)
Project: Migrant Youth Empowerment, Upstate New York
Mentor: Richard Witt
Agency: Rural and Migrant Ministry
Project Summary:
The purpose of the project is to engage migrant youth in participation in the
political process. Working under the auspices of the Rural and Migrant Ministry,
José will develop a series of Leadership Institutes addressing pertinent
political, economic, and cultural issues.
Fellow: Jacqueline Price Sequoia (Berea College)
Project: Development and Implementation of a Culturally Specific Reproductive
Health
Education Curriculum for American Indian Adolescents, San Diego, CA
Mentor: Laura A. Williams, MD, MPH
Agency: Association of American Indian Physicians
Project Summary:
The purpose of the project is to empower Native American adolescents to take
control of their reproductive health and become agents of social change. Working
directly with native communities and reproductive health providers, Jacqueline
will develop, pilot, and evaluate a culturally specific reproductive health
education curriculum.
Fellow: Morgan Williams (Oberlin College)
Project: Integration of Sustainable Development Principles in the Comprehensive
Land Use
Plan, Oberlin, OH
Mentor: Michael Kinsley
Agency: Rocky Mountain Institute
Project Summary:
The purpose of the project is to increase public participation in the planning
process of the community and to incorporate principles of sustainable development
in Oberlin’s Land Use Plan. Morgan will investigate successful community
models, develop alternatives to “Big Box Development”, identify
sustainability indicators, organize public forums and workshops, and host “The
Round Table”, a local TV show to foster community dialogue.