Emerson Fellow
Alexandrea Wilson
28th Class, 2021-2022
Alexandrea is from Chicago, Illinois, and recently graduated with her masters in social service administration from the University of Chicago. Prior to graduate school Alexandrea served in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps where she worked on health related projects where she began to understand the importance of food access in improving community health outcomes. Last summer Alexandrea worked with the Chicago Food Policy Action Council where she helped to build out an internship program aimed toward creating opportunities for underrepresented identities in environmental work. Alexandrea also created a podcast - Healing the Land where she aims to create dialogue that highlights BIPOC voices on the topic of racial and environmental justice.
Field placement: Warren Village
Denver, Colorado
Alexandrea is currently completing her field work at Warren Village in Denver, Colorado. Her work primarily focuses on evaluating Warren Village's current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and processes to include residents in decision making. Alexandrea's work includes collecting qualitative data to understand resident experiences and utilizing this data to make recommendations to Warren Village.
Policy placement: Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice
Washington, D.C.
Alexandrea Wilson is working with the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice to analyze reports from colleges and universities outlining their use of federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF). Within her research Alexandrea hopes to highlight impactful ways institutions of higher education have prioritized addressing student experiences of basic needs insecurity.