I hope to build relationships within and beyond the lab, making connections with people who are directly invovled the environmental justice community. I also hope to continue expanding my knowledge about the different frameworks and methodologies the lab uses as well as gain more experience with community-engaged research and apply that to my future career.
Some of the most important things I think EcoGovLab needs to be skilled in is being able to identify solution pathways for problems we find and problems that are brought to us. We need to be able to clearly envision the actions we need to take in order to respond to problems that will answer research questions. In order to achieve this the lab should be able to connect lab members to these real world problems. This way the lab is able to connect people to research questions while achieving the lab's overall goals. We also have to continue to practice flexibility so that we are always positioned to take on new things while still following through with ongoing research. Communication is another skill everyone should be good at in order to maintain the collaboration and connectivity amongst the lab. When it comes to more technical skills I won't list all of those since I think any skill can fit into the lab and help us move forward. Which again reiterates the point that we should value different perspectives when it comes to approaching our research questions.
The people in the lab right now come from a lot of different backgrounds and are educated in different topics. A lot of people are knowledgeable on education which I think is important in translating the things we do in the lab and better equip us for sharing research to broader audiences. Since a lot of people in the lab are doing anthropological work this also helps us with outreach and communication. Anthropology teaches people how to get into certain spheres of society which supports our ability to obtain information from people and gives us a more robust understanding of problems. The anthropological aspect of the lab also makes us more sensitive to culture which gives us an edge in solving problems. Meaning that since anthropology teaches people to be as objective as possible and puts you in other people's shoes we are able to take a more holistic approach to identifying and solving problems. I think everyone in the lab has a solid understanding of this and is our most valuable tool. People are also good at utilizing technology to our advantage.
I think I am skilled in finding the information I need and am also good at getting information from people. Over the course of the past few months I have created a network of people within the government (EPA, CalEPA, CUPA’s, LEPC’s) and know how to get information on chemical facilities in the state. This expertise I have created has made it so that I know how to talk with the government and what questions to ask in order to get information (this obviously isn’t perfect but the research I'm doing now is furthering my capabilities). I have connected this research to my bigger goals and view it as integral to furthering my understanding of the country and is defining my thinking. Due to this thought process I am dedicated to the research and do not treat it as a minor thing. Since I want to learn as much as possible about everything I am also open to taking on any project and am very open-minded to new ideas/perspectives. Finally I think my overall mind set makes me a good asset to the lab. If I really believe in what I am doing then I will do whatever is necessary to accomplish the goals of my work.
I want to better understand how the local, state, and federal governments work in all aspects. Alongside this I want to see what strategies the government at these levels are implementing regulations/laws and how they conduct community engagement. I want to see what works for them and which actions are most impactful on people's lives. Inversely I want to see the government's weaknesses so that I can understand where I need to respond and act to make it function better. The other vital piece to this is interacting with communities to see what their needs are and learn how to include them in problem solving. This will help me see where the government needs to improve in order to fully address the State’s and Country’s challenges. In participating with the lab I also want to improve my communication abilities. I want to better learn how to share information, how to get information from people, and how to better listen to people in a way that can help me fix things.
I am using the lab as a place to test my ideas/skills and understand the variety of ways I can approach problems in the world. I use it as a place to put into practice the things I am learning in my life and hope the lab will continue to give me opportunities to work on real world problems. I also am using the things I learn in the lab to build out a to-do list for my future work and to show me what problems I need to respond to. The lab has and hopefully will continue to help me in creating political strategies.