Alumni Update: Skyler Kriese '20
Skyler Kriese works as a Research Assistant for We the People of Detroit (WPD), a community-based grassroots organization dedicated to coalition building and advocating for the human right to water. Her current focus with WPD’s Community Research Collective is a water testing project led by Stanford Impact Labs. The project involves training youth leaders to conduct door-to-door water testing in Detroit with the goal of using the findings to support local and national advocacy efforts for improved water quality and infrastructure. Skyler was connected to We the People of Detroit through her participation in the Yale Environmental Fellows Program in 2022, and she has the honor of supervising this year’s Fellow at WPD!
Prior to her work with WPD, Skyler pursued a Master of Science in Environmental Justice at the University of Michigan advised by Dr. Kyle Whyte. For her Master’s project, she carried out research in the most polluted zip code in Michigan—48217—with longtime southwest Detroit environmental justice activists Theresa Landrum, Rhonda Anderson, and Dr. Dolores Leonard.
Skyler wrote:
Importantly, it wasn’t our biweekly meetings or student status that were most important to building trust with Theresa, Rhonda, and Dr. Leonard. What seemed more meaningful was showing up to various community events they hosted, like PFAS teach-ins and documentary screenings, and pitching in to help wherever needed. Our conversations got deeper once our commitment to getting to know their community got deeper than strictly what was needed for our academic requirements. I think this helped lead us to create deliverables and a presentation that was as well received by the community as it was by our client and the University, which was our ultimate goal.
While at Santa Clara, Skyler was fortunate to work closely with Drs. Christopher Bacon and Chad Raphael on environmental justice research. With Dr. Bacon, she analyzed climate resilience outcomes of diversified farming methods which led to co-authoring the publication “Beyond the bean: Analyzing diversified farming, food security, dietary diversity, and gender in Nicaragua’s smallholders coffee cooperatives.” This research mutually benefited her work with Dr. Chad Raphael synthesizing case studies to support his book Ground Truths: Community Engaged Research for Environmental Justice and ultimately empowered her to continue to seek out the people already doing good EJ work and build their capacity to do more