2026 Recipients

Community-Engaged Service and Practice

Angelique Brianna Willis, College of Social Science

Any project worth doing starts with listening, keeps listening as it builds, and leaves behind tools people can use when the meeting is over. Angelique Willis’ work with the Atlanta Watershed Learning Network (AWLN) Alumni Group reflects that philosophy. Alumni identified a community need: Many residents were uncertain about what “environmental justice” means and who to contact when harms occur. Willis, alumni, and community leaders co-developed a symposium, “Breaking the Cycle of Environmental Injustice: A Community Learning and Advocacy Event.”  Community leaders shared personal stories about what environmental justice looks like in their neighborhoods and how to report it. These findings now guide AWLN’s community education and engagement activities.

Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning

Chenlu Jin, College of Education

Seeking to better understand Chinese American communities, Chenlu Jin partnered with Spartan Chinese School (SCS), a nonprofit heritage language school. SCS offers Chinese language classes from Pre-K to AP Chinese. As a volunteer, she learned that the principal and parents shared a concern that children were losing interest in heritage language classes because traditional teaching methods felt disconnected from their everyday experiences. Together they co-designed 1) a curriculum that centered on play and culturally relevant learning and 2) a heritage language workshop for youth volunteers. Born and raised in China, Jin’s personal encounters with linguistic bias and her research on heritage language have shaped her commitment to fostering multilingualism.  

Jennifer Roedel, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

As part of the Bee Urban Growers (BUG) Project, Jennifer Roedel collaborated with community partners to educate urban farmers and gardeners in the Detroit and Lansing areas on pollinator management. Partners included Stefanie Steele of the Xerces Society, Detroit Butterfly Nursery, Detroit Hives, Detroit artist Joseph Ferraro, nonprofits, extension professionals, and government agencies. Together they created teaching and learning materials for growers including educational resources, presentations, hands-on demonstrations, and social media campaigns. A pollinator management field day brought together community collaborators to lead workshops and poster presentations. In addition, Roedel was the lead author of a pocket guide on urban pollinators to support accessible science communication for broader audiences.

Community-Engaged Research

Rafael Lembi, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Energy insecurity is a critical challenge in the Brazilian Amazon, where 1 million people live with limited/no electricity. Indigenous, riverine, and other traditional communities are disproportionately affected, as many reside in remote areas. In response, community leaders, activists, and scholars have advocated for small-scale, decentralized solar energy systems. Rafael Lembi led community-engaged research on the uptake of photovoltaic systems in Indigenous and traditional communities along the lower Tapajós River. His work compares national, top-down solar programs with bottom-up, community-led projects, demonstrating how meaningful participation can advance just energy transitions. Participatory activities helped build a consensus around energy needs, amplifying community voices about energy justice and policy change in Brazil.