Staff

Tara received an undergraduate degree in art and before returning to graduate school was an elementary art teacher at a Title 1 school in the CMS district. As a student of ceramics, the content of her work frequently focused on the social injustices and inequalities that are often times prevalent in our urban communities. In […]

Melissa is currently an assistant professor at Mississippi State University. Biography: Melissa Currie is a licensed landscape architect and experienced land planner. Prior to coming to UNCC for doctoral studies in Geography and Urban Regional Analysis, she was an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Texas Tech University, teaching studios in Urban Design, Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration, […]

Tonya Farrow-Chestnut, Ph.D., is a data and research analyst with specializations in quantitative and qualitative methods, spatial statistical analysis, network analysis, geographic information systems (GIS) and social/spatial epidemiology. Currently she applies her unique skillsets consulting with the NCDP 12th Congressional District Chair on voter registration and performs precinct analysis. Prior to applying her skills to […]

Colleen Hammelman, PhD (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geographical Sciences at UNC Charlotte. Relying on action research and active learning approaches, her research and teaching broadly consider questions of social justice in urban food systems across the Americas. Current research focuses on better understanding how migrants create and […]

Founder of the Butterfly Highway project. President of Bollie Consulting, an independent research, environmental planning, and consulting agency. www.bollieconsulting.com

Dr. Hoover is an assistant professor of environmental planning at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, and founder of EcoGreenQueen, a company dedicated to teaching and expanding the use of environmental justice framings and methods across research and practice. As an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in urban social-ecologies, […]

Joe moved to Charlotte in 2004 after graduating from Purdue University. After an eclectic collection of jobs he volunteered with the United Way’s Citizen Review Process. His work with the United Way led him to look at communities and specifically Charlotte in a more holistic way and wanted to learn more. He began work on […]

Katherine Idziorek (she/her/hers) is a community-engaged researcher and certified urban planner who joined UNC Charlotte’s Department of Geography and Earth Sciences in 2021. Katherine’s research examines the role of place-based resources and social networks in community-scale disaster preparedness. She approaches this work from an asset-based perspective, building upon unique community strengths and values to facilitate […]

I am an Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences. My research explores air quality using low-cost air monitors, in addition to other data-oriented questions related to atmospheric and climate related phenomena. In 2015, I collaborated with CHARP and the Charlotte-based […]

Liz Morrell holds a PhD and Master’s degree in Geography with a concentration in Urban and Regional Analysis from UNC Charlotte, and a bachelor’s degree in secondary social studies education from Purdue University. She became involved with the Charlotte Action Research Project during her tenure as a Master’s student at UNC Charlotte and has worked […]