Faculty Fellows
Na'Taki Osborne Jelks
Executive Director and co-founder of WAWA and Core Faculty Fellow
Spelman College/WAWA
Na’Taki (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at Spelman College, and is co-founder and Executive Director of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA). Her expertise in environmental health, environmental injustice, infrastructure and health equity, has been instrumental in the establishment of CSAW. She continues to be a visionary for the entire team.
Christina Fuller
Core Faculty Fellow
University of Georgia
Christina (she/her) is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, conducting research on environmental health and justice. She has expertise in exposure science and epidemiology, which she uses to investigate air pollution exposure, pollution reduction exit strategies, health disparities and social-environmental interactions. She advises CSAW on relevant trainings and programming for students, staff, and community partners within the ecosystem.
Daniel Gebgregiorgis
Core Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Daniel (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental systems. He currently researches the responses of monsoon systems to changes in climate and wind-sea patterns. He directs and co-directs with Nadine the Paleoclimate & Climate Change (PCC) and Environmental Research Labs, respectively. The PCC lab can identify minerals and analyze rocks, sediment, and soil samples. At CSAW, Daniel informs us on data management and air research.
Katherine Hankins
Core Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Katherine (she/her) is an urban geographer, qualitative researcher, archival analyst, and Chair of the Geosciences Department. She has extensive knowledge of urban geography, urban history and Atlanta neighborhoods, with research examining how the city is produced and navigated by individuals, groups, and organizations. Considered the helm of the CSAW ship, she provides guidance and leadership for many of CSAW’s projects and initiatives.
Paulo Hidalgo
Core Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Paulo (he/him) is a senior lecturer within the Geosciences department, whose research involves applying geochemical techniques to understand the origin and evolution of the continental crust. His Rock and Mineral Preparation Lab is especially concerned with heavy metals, including their makeup and/or distribution within solid substances (e.g. urban soils, glass, suspended particles of urban stream samples). At CSAW, he informs our lab and field safety policies.
Nadine Kabengi
Core Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Nadine (she/her) is an Associate Professor and the Dean of the GSU Graduate School. At CSAW, she leads the Course Development, Working Group. Nadine’s Environmental Geochemistry Lab can answer questions regarding water and soil quality, including quantifying heavy metals, and measuring the fate and transport of natural and anthropogenic contaminants in ecosystems.
Sarah Ledford
Core Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Sarah (she/her) is an Assistant Professor and urban hydrologist interested in the intersection of hydrology, biogeochemistry, and water quality in urban settings. Particularly interested in how sociology influences water in cities, her Urban Hydrology Lab is equipped to measure vital properties of streams from discharge rate to dissolved oxygen, and water quality analysis including E. Coli and nitrate measurements. At CSAW, she leads the M.S. application and Champions the Watershed Monitoring Project.
Richard Milligan
Core Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Richard (he/him) is an Associate Professor and Graduate Director within the Geosciences Department. Drawing from political ecology and environmental justice scholarship, Richard studies the intersections of race and the environment. He’s well-versed in qualitative methodologies, archival analysis, the historical geography of Atlanta, and community-engagement. He directs and oversees projects within CSAW, and specifically Champions the Listening and Sharing Project.
Eri Saikawa
Core Faculty Fellow
Emory University
Eri (she/her) is a Professor at Emory University, whose interdisciplinary research covers diverse projects from atmospheric chemistry to environmental health to climate science. Her work establishing the Westside of Atlanta as a Superfund site has made her the Champion of the Surveying Soil Project.
Rachel Arney
Affiliated Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Rachel (she/her) is a geographer and lecturer in the Department of Geosciences. Originally trained as a marine ecologist, she now studies the production of environmental knowledge and governance in political spaces. Her work seeks to unearth the racial and colonial imaginaries that shape conservation efforts within the U.S. She’s recently joined the Atlanta Abolition Research Collective to bring together organizers, activists, and academics working against the carceral state in and beyond Atlanta.
Dajun Dai
Affiliated Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Dajun (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Geography, with research interests in environmental based urban and social issues, public health, transportation and computational geographic information sciences (GIS). He is a core faculty member of the Partnership for Urban Health Research, and an affiliated faculty member of the Emory Center for Injury Control at Emory University.
Carrie Freshour
Affiliated Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Carrie (she/her) is an un-disciplined human geographer and Assistant Professor in the Geosciences Department, whose work focuses on low wage food and agricultural labor in the US, racial capitalism, carceral and abolition geographies, and the black radical tradition. She's currently finalizing her book project Making Life Work, which centers the experiences of black woman, their families, and broader place-based communities in northeast Georgia who remained the basis for the global production of cheap chicken.
Flavia Moraes
Affiliated Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
From Porto Alegre, Brazil, Flavia’s (she/her) a lecturer in the Department of Geosciences whose research includes climatology, water resources, hydro climatology, and extreme weather events. As a physical geographer and climatologist, teaching is a fundamental part of her career. She also has worked as an environmental and scientific journalist for the O Eco news outlet.
Rachel Scarlett
Affiliated Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Rachel (she/her) is in environmental scientist, mentor, and teacher. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences. Her research focuses on flooding and water quality impairment resulting from stormwater and wastewater management, interested in how urban development, social norms and roles, and structural racism shape our waterways. Her ultimate goal as an academic is to train students to think beyond disciplinary silos.
Taylor Shelton
Affiliated Faculty Fellow
Georgia State University
Taylor (he/him) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences. Broadly trained as a geographer, his work sits at the intersection of critical human geography and GIS. Taylor's research focuses on the variety of ways that urban spaces and social inequalities are represented, reproduced and contested through maps and data. He is particularly interested in using mapping to develop alternative understandings of urban social and environmental injustices, especially as it relates to issues of housing and property ownership. He's recently begun applying his knowledge to the city of Atlanta on his blog, Mapping Atlanta.
Community Fellows
Opal Baker
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
A community advocate and environmental justice activist, Opal Baker (she/her) works at the intersection of voting rights, racial justice, and social justice. Her core belief is that everyone deserves a healthful life, with access to fresh, nutritious, and affordable food within their own community as a fundamental right. Opal believes that voting is a critical tool for driving change toward a more just and equitable food system for all. The founder of a community-based organization, Forward Together East Point, and a board member for Market 166 Grocery & Kitchen Co-op in East Point, Georgia, Opal brings decades of experience to organizing.
Genia Billingsley
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
Ms. Billingsley (she/her) is a committed journalist, experienced community organizer, inspirational mother, valued neighbor and life-long resident of Grove Park. She’s the Vice President of the Grove Park Neighborhood Association and Community Engagement Coordinator at Canopy Atlanta, a community journalism nonprofit founded in 2020 that chooses, reports, and shares stories with Atlantans, by Atlantans. Her skills as a writer, dedication to fostering strong community bonds, promotion of engagement among residents, and commitment to uplifting the area has contributed significantly to the overall well-being and success of the Grove Park neighborhood.
Renee Cail
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
Ms. Cail’s (she/hers) true calling is advocating for the rights of people to attain their highest quality of life via access to enjoy sanitary water, clean air, and healthy soil. She’s possessed the unique privilege of assisting communities’ fight opposing corporations with a history of spewing toxic emissions that harm the residents of predominantly African American, rural and disenfranchised communities in Lithonia, GA. She became a member of CHASE (Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment) in 2009, and shortly thereafter, became the President. Ms. Cail has expertise in hosting events encouraging community engagement, organized protests, and strategic planning.
Jackie Echols
Community Fellow
SRWA
Rosario Hernandez
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
When Ms. Hernandez (she/her) first moved to Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood, it was challenging to find good quality produce. After meeting the founder of Historic Westside Gardens, a CBO that fosters community self-determination through building equitable neighborhood networks around healthy, fresh and affordable food, Ms. Hernandez now works tirelessly to bring food justice to her neighborhood. You may find her installing gardens at local homes and in the community, teaching residents how to grow and eat from their own gardens, or selling produce at the Westside Growers Market.
Alison Johnson
Community Fellow
HJL
Annie Moore
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
Ms. Moore (she/her) is passionate about flooding, air quality, clean water and lack of tree canopy creating energy burdens on underserved communities. As founder and Director of Operations for the Green Team of English Avenue Incorporated, a non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainability and environmental justice. They maintain and foster eco-friendly habits of the three parks in English Avenue: Mattie Freeland, Kathryn Johnston, and Lindsay Street. Ultimately Ms. Moore’s efforts contribute to climate intervention and ensures a healthier environment in her community.
Gwen Smith
Community Fellow
CHARRS/WAWA/ECO-Action
Ms. Smith (she/her) founded the Community Health Aligning Revitalization Resilience & Sustainability (CHARRS) in 2016, as a nonprofit community organization committed to environmental justice, environmental and economic health, education equity, and citizen science. Drawing from principles of public health CHARRS is dedicated to serving African American and underserved communities, and implementing solutions to the inequities and injustices associated with them. Having a background in lead contamination working with the EPA, she is deeply dedicated to innovative approaches to EJ.
Donna Stephens
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
Atlanta native and community champion Ms. Stephens, (she/her), is an individual who refuses to settle for more pollution, industry and environmental degradation of her neighborhood. As co-chair for the Proctor Creek Stewardship Council and a graduate of the Atlanta Watershed Learning Network, Ms. Stephens has been instrumental in the growth of the Parks with Purpose program for The Conservation Fund of Atlanta as well as staunch advocate for the health of Atlanta's Procter Creek watershed.
"Able" Mable Thomas
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
“Able” Mable Thomas (she/her) for over 30 years has been at the forefront fighting for freedom, justice, and equality for all Georgians and disenfranchised people around the world. Ms. Thomas is the founder of the Greater Vine City Opportunities Program Inc., and served as the Georgian Representatives in the US Congress for 26 years. She’s always willing and ABLE to stand up, speak out. As a community organizer, civil and human rights activist or elected official, she has been a consistent force for good.
Alfred Tucker
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
Mr. Tucker (he/him), is a retired customer service and sales and marketing professional, who is an Atlanta native and currently lives in east point. He describes being involved in environmental justice organizing as “a stroke of serendipity”. After being offered a place in the Atlanta Watershed Learning Network in 2020, he quickly embraced the cause for watershed mismanagement that has perpetrated environmental injustices on marginalized communities. Having lived through the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s, Mr. Tucker considers the new wave of environmental advocacy another phase of that which began 60 years ago.
Columbus Ward
Community Fellow
Georgia State University
Columbus Ward (he/him) is the Executive Director of Peoplestown Revitalization Corporation (PRC), a grass-roots organization focused on housing and economic development for the community in Peoplestown. The PRC is part of a long history of resident-led initiatives intended to improve neighborhood services, mitigate the negative impact of urban renewal and highway building, and facilitate local participation in city and regional planning. Mr. Ward has been described as an “Equal opportunity hell-raiser, a grassroots agitator quick to confront mayors, governors, police, social workers, thugs, parents, well-meaning volunteers, corporations—in short, anybody who threatens his community, and especially anyone who dares to ignore it.”
Master's Fellows
Austin Kral
Grad Fellow, Cohort 3
Georgia State University
Austin Kral (he/him) is a master’s fellow concentrating in Geography. He received his undergraduate degrees in cognitive science and computer science and works at the intersection of human geography, STS, and critical infrastructure and data studies to ground contemporary forms of data and surveillance in techno-racial capitalism and cybernetic governance.
Eliana Morales
Grad Fellow, Cohort 3
Georgia State University
Eliana Morales (She/Her), a 2025 spring graduate of Georgia State University with B.S in Geoscience, is passionate about bridging the knowledge gap in environmental education across spaces within and beyond academia. She loves spending time outdoors, crafting, and learning new things, which are always exciting to her! Eliana hopes to bring her investigative skills to efforts in science communication and advance environmental justice within communities to close the nature gap. Currently, Eliana is investigating the governance technologies used to establish energy infrastructure and data centers across Atlanta and its metro region, as well as the burdens they place on legacy communities already facing environmental hazards in their neighborhoods. Eliana is seeking collaborative opportunities to maintain well-informed, healthy communities. After CSAW, Eliana is looking to either complete a JD or a PhD in Environmental Policy.
Benjamin Trost
Grad Fellow, Cohort 3
Georgia State University
Benjamin Trost is a first-year Master of Geosciences student at Georgia State University. He received a BS in Biology and a BA in Environmental Studies and Storytelling from the University of Alabama in 2025. Ben is an interdisciplinary social scientist who draws on human geography, qualitative research, and journalism to examine environmental transformation in the South. For the 2025 – 2026 academic year, he writes for the Rachel Carson Council as a Presidential Fellow. His current graduate work explores the environmental and political dimensions of AI data center expansion in Metro Atlanta.
Destinee Whitaker
Grad Fellow, Cohort 3
Georgia State University
Destinee Whitaker, a 2023 graduate of Spelman College with a B.S. in Environmental Science, is committed to addressing the global water crisis through research and her nonprofit organization, puripHied. From October 2023 to July 2025, she served as the postbaccalaureate fellow for the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA) through the CSAW program. Now rejoining CSAW as a master’s student, Destinee is seeking tools, networks, and collaborative research opportunities in community science focused on water-related issues. She hopes to further her work in Atlanta and support the continued growth of puripHied. After CSAW, Destinee plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Hydrology and Water Resource Management and expand puripHied into a global platform for water advocacy and action.
Issac Wood
Grad Fellow, Cohort 3
Georgia State University
Stokely Dennis
Grad Fellow, Cohort 2
Georgia State University
Stokely Dennis (he/him) is a graduate fellow with CSAW! His academic pathway is Geoscience with a concentration in Geography, specifically Human Geography, at Georgia State University. He studied at Oglethorpe University during undergrad and has a BA in Political Science. His goal in organizing with the CSAW ecosystem is to develop a thorough understanding of the issues facing communities across Georgia, and developing the strategies and solutions that will resolve these issues.
Lynesia Denson
Grad Fellow, Cohort 2
Georgia State University
Lynesia Denson (she/her) is an Atlanta Sustainability Ambassador and Atlanta Watershed Learning Network (AWLN) graduate. As a CSAW Fellow, she supports the AWLN Alumni Association in an administrative capacity and serves alongside Community Fellow Opal Baker on the education committee to create learning material and opportunities. Lynesia is most interested in stormwater management, flood mitigation, and other urban and social issues. She’s looking forward to using tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine and visualize the sociopolitical aspects of water and social injustice.
Aaron Pacheco
Grad Fellow, Cohort 2
Georgia State University
A proud Mexican-American, Aaron (He/Him) is passionate about using maps and GIS to uncover and visually communicate environmental injustices. Equipped with a strong set of cartographic skills, Aaron works alongside Dr. Taylor Shelton to launch CSAW’s Community Mapping Lab, collaborating with community partners to produce maps that support environmentally-just initiatives, with community interests at the forefront of these visualizations. His interests involve exploring the ways cartography can be a mechanism for supporting environmentally-just organization and policy, especially within Latin American communities. He is also a strong advocate for accessible science communication, hoping to bridge the gaps between environmentally overburdened communities and the research sphere in academia.
Skyy Corral
Grad Fellow, Cohort 2
Georgia State University
Skyy Corral (she/her) grew up experiencing a rich variety of environments and communities due to her mother’s military service. Now a dual-degree Geosciences student at GSU, Skyy is passionate about advancing environmental stewardship and community outreach across the realms of academia, government, and grassroots movements. Currently, her research focuses on the collaborative effort between historical policy and contemporary infrastructure that influences recreational access to water across various racial communities. Additionally, her work spans examining magmatic plumbing systems, microplastics research and policy, advancing the UN’s SDG’s within higher education, and investigating the impacts of anthropogenic activity on urban water resources. After the completion of her Master’s she aims to pursue a PhD in Ecology and engage in research to encourage science-based policy advocating for environmental conservation and justice for marginalized communities.
Keiona Williams
Grad Fellow, Cohort 2
Georgia State University
Keiona (she/her), a 2024 graduate of Colgate University with a BS in Geology and Biology, is invested in addressing water issues, particularly in urban environments. Through her work with CSAW, she hopes to enhance her technical knowledge with geographical information systems in order to understand how and who is impacted from water allocation and treatment decisions. Upon her completion of pursuing a master's at Georgia State in Geosciences with a concentration in Water Sciences, Keiona hopes to enter into the industry world of hydrological research.
Wisdom Akanmisikum
Grad Fellow, Cohort 1 Alum
Georgia State University
Wisdom (he/him) is invested in learning methods of water resource management to enhance the resilience of his hometown Ghanaian communities against threats of climate change and food insecurity. He’s joined CSAW to understand how his background in Geological Engineering can help inform policy-decisions governing water, including its delivery and potability. Wisdom is currently engaged in research with East Point communities regarding the so-called Tift Site, alongside CSAW Grad Fellow Finn. After graduating from GSU, Wisdom is considering pursuing a PhD.
Finn Gillette
Grad Fellow, Cohort 1 Alum
Georgia State University
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Finn (he/they) is a recent graduate of Coastal Carolina University (CCU), where he majored in Marine Science. He has experience in qualitative data collection and making maps, having done extensive research in flood-prone areas around CCU. Finn’s currently engaged in research with East Point communities regarding the so-called Tift Site, alongside CSAW Grad Fellow Wisdom. After graduating from GSU, Finn is considering pursuing a PhD.
Thérèse Kelly
Grad Fellow, Cohort 1 Alum
Georgia State University
Thérèse (she/her) has extensive experience in hydrology field work and data analysis, as well as a background in middle and high school education. She is interested in a critical approach to addressing urban water quality issues through interdisciplinary community-engaged research that can inform policy action. Currently, Thérèse is collaborating with South River Watershed Alliance on the co-creation and dissemination of maps and reports of the South River. After graduating from GSU, Thérèse is considering a return to teaching or non-profit work.
Jada Nimblett
Grad Fellow, Cohort 1 Alum
Georgia State University
Jada (she/her) was born and raised in the small twin-island country, Trinidad and Tobago. After graduating from GSU with her BS in Geosciences, she is now pursuing a Master’s in Geociences. At CSAW, she strengthens academic outreach at conferences like the National Association of Black Geoscientists; their annual conference will be held at GSU in early Fall. Her current research is focused on understanding how volcanic activity in Costa Rican communities correlates with eruptive events, ultimately informing hazard monitoring and mitigation efforts. After graduating, she hopes to work in either the Carbon Storage or Renewable Energy industries, eventually pursuing a PhD.
IvoRi Schley
Grad Fellow, Cohort 1 Alum
Georgia State University
IvoRi (she/her) is a deeply committed Ethnobotanist and EJ Activist. As co-founder of Afro Agriculture LLC and Farm and Education Coordinator for the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, IvoRi is well-versed in leading programming that centers the beauty, resourcefulness, and ancestral knowledge of the vegetation that grows all around us. While at CSAW, she is implementing an Afro-Indigenous curriculum for Black homeschool youth, furthering her understanding of ethnobotany and food apartheid through a geography lens.
Angelique Willis
Grad Fellow, Cohort 1 Alum
Georgia State University
Angelique (she/her) champions the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle critical socio-environmental challenges, especially those that center both environmental exposures and justice. With expertise in diverse statistical and geographical software tools, she holds a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health. In May of 2024, she’ll graduate from GSU with a Master of Science in Geosciences. While at CSAW, Angelique initiated the Drinking Water Project, demonstrating her commitment to public health and drinking water safety. Angelique is currently pursuing a dual PhD in Geography, Environmental Science, and Policy at Michigan State University to further her impact in addressing global environmental health challenges for marginalized communities.
Partner and Staff Fellows
Yomi Noibi
Community Partner
ECO-Action
An esteemed community organizer and advocate for environmental justice in the state Georgia and beyond, Dr. Yomi Noibi (he/him) has assisted Black communities in the Metro-Atlanta area with organizing for advocacy in the environmental justice movement since the early 1990’s. He emphasizes the importance of faith, community and environmental justice. Dr. Yomi served as executive director of Environmental Community Action (ECO-Action) from 2005 to 2022. He has worked with the residents of English Avenue and Vine City and collaborating partners such as the Community Improvement Association, the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and the English Avenue Neighborhood Association for many years. He has taught – informally and formally – an ever increasing number of people about the Precautionary Principle, “Better Safe than Sorry”, while helping to grow the Proctor Creek Stewardship Council. Dr. Yomi holds a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in Science Education with a focus on Environmental Science and Industrial Hygiene and Safety.
Safia Read
Postbac Fellow
Georgia State University
Naurica Encarnación
Postbac Fellow, Alum
Georgia State University
Naurica (she/her) graduated from Emory University in 2023 with a BS in Environmental Science and Chemistry. She gained experience with community-based participatory research while working in the Saikawa Lab, focusing on issues of soil contamination. Within CSAW, Naurica works at GSU, coordinating projects and facilitating effective collaboration across community partners, higher-ed institutions (HEIs) and between team members. After CSAW, Naurica plans to continue engaging with JEDI-focused approaches to environmental challenges.
Denzell Cross
Postdoc Fellow
Georgia State University
Denzell (he/him) recently obtained his doctorate from University of Georgia in ecology and integrative conservation. He firmly believes urban water conflicts are in desperate need of innovative and creative thinking and collaborations to address environmental, social and economic issues. Denzell grew up in Virginia Beach, VA, and has experience with K-12 outreach programs that center on environmental education. His position at CSAW will allow him to continue to conduct research investigating the impacts of urbanization on the structure and function of aquatic communities. Eventually, Denzell plans to be a research ecologist.
Tanuja Anne
Project Coordinator
Georgia State University
Darryl Haddock
Community Partner
WAWA
Anamarie Ngala-Bey
Community Partner
WAWA
Anamarie (she/her) is the Environmental Education Programs Manager and leads conservation efforts at WAWA. While facilitating programming, she embodies Ms. Frizzle! Growing up in DC, her worldview was influenced by listening to Atlanta rappers like OutKast and the Dungeon Family, that described lush imagery of the South—a stark contrast to the more urbanized environment of her upbringing. She studied journalism at the HBCU Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, where she got the opportunity to travel internationally, learning that, “There’s so much to protect and take care of.”
Eslen Trumble
Postbac Fellow
WAWA
Eslen (she/her) graduated from Spelman College in 2025 with a BS in Environmental Science. She has gained well-rounded experience with ecology, environmental justice, food equity, and community-based research through work with nonprofits and academic institutions across the United States. Within CSAW, Eslen works at WAWA, where she strives to explore the intersections of environmental science and broaden existing data centered projects with an emphasis on community science and engagement.
Anna Clark
Watershed Coordinator
WAWA
Anna (she/her) currently serves as the Watershed Organizer at the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA). Her work focuses on resourcing and supporting community leaders, particularly in the Proctor Creek watershed.