Community Science, Climate Justice, and Mentorship with Dr. Na'taki Osborne Jelks

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Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! 

On today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Na'Taki Osborne Jelks, assistant professor of environmental and health sciences at Spelman College and Co-Founder of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance about Community Science, Climate Justice, and Mentorship. Read her full bio below.

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Showtimes: 
1:36 - The Positives about Fall
7:59 - Interview with Dr. Jelks starts
17:40 - West Atlanta Watershed Alliance 
29:56 - Challenges of Funding
39:35 - Field Notes with Dr. Jelks!

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This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.

Connect with Dr. Na'Taki Osborne Jelks https://www.linkedin.com/in/na-taki-osborne-jelks-ph-d-mph-571225/

Guest Bio: 
Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks is an assistant professor of environmental and health sciences at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA and Co-Founder of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, a community-based, environmental justice organization. Jelks investigates urban environmental health disparities; the impact of climate change on marginalized communities; the role that place, race, and social factors play in influencing health; and urban greening and resilience practices and their impact on health. She also develops, implements, and evaluates community-based initiatives that set conditions to enable low-income and communities of color to empower themselves to reduce exposure to environmental health hazards. Jelks’ scholarship centers participatory approaches that engage environmentally overburdened communities in monitoring local environmental conditions, generating actionable data for community change, and developing effective community-based interventions that revitalize toxic, degraded spaces into healthy places. She is currently leading UrbanHeatATL, a research initiative in which local students and community members are mapping urban heat islands in Atlanta with community science. Her research has been supported by public and private entities such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Rockefeller, Robert Wood Johnson, JPB, and National Science Foundations.

Music Credits
Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa
Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller

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