MEFA: Storytelling with Community-Engaged Research
Thanks to everyone who joined us for this virtual event on February 27, 2024.
If you were unable to join us, the recording is shared below.
MEFA’s fourth virtual event highlighted the use of stories to make authentic connections in community engaged research. The event was designed to provide participants with tips for putting their science into a narrative to better connect to their audience and begin to build genuine relationships. The event began with a one-hour workshop that included best practices for crafting narratives, led by Bethann Garramon Merkle, an expert in science communication and engagement. The workshop was followed by a twenty-minute presentation by Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, highlighting how one can successfully engage community in their ecological research with an example from her work. The event concluded with time for Q&A.
GUEST SPEAKER
Bethann Garramon Merkle, MFA (University of Wyoming) | Resources
For nearly two decades, Bethann has developed programs to enhance science communication (scicomm) skills among scientists at all career stages and has trained over 3,000+ scientists in inclusive scicomm. Especially relevant to this session, Bethann has an MFA in creative writing and was a science essayist and journalist in a former life. She is now on the faculty of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming, where her scholarship and teaching sit at the intersections of art-science integration, equity in STEM, organizational change, and scicomm theory and practice. Bethann also leads/consults on graduate student success, strategic planning, equity initiatives, and scicomm for agencies and universities across North America. Connect to her work and resources at www.commnatural.com/blog and www.uwyo.edu/wysci/.
GUEST SPEAKER
Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks (Spelman College)
Na’Taki is an environmental health scientist focused on disparities in urban systems. She develops, implements, and evaluates community-based initiatives to enable and empower low-income and communities of color to improve health and quality of life. She is currently co-leading UrbanHeatATL, a research initiative in which Atlanta-based students and community members are mapping urban heat islands with community science. Na’Taki has earned numerous prestigious awards, most recently, the Damu Smith Environmental Health Achievement Award from the Environment Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) in 2023.
AGENDA
- 5 minutes, Introduction to the Macrosystems Ecology For All Research Coordination Network
- 50 minutes, Storytelling Workshop led by Bethann Garramon Merkle, MFA
- 20 minutes: Presentation by Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, PhD
- 10 minutes: Question and Answer
- Event concludes
