Projects
Development and Outreach at The Resources, Solutions and Supportive Services Center (TheR3SC)
Service Flyer for HeadStart Families
Social Media Post
Background
Connected with the founder of TheR3SC through volunteer service work in San Diego. Founder was in the early stages of developing her organization and implementing her mission. Specifically, she needed assistance with budgeting, grant applications, outreach and communications.
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TheR3SC is a mobile peer non-profit that provides gap-fill resources to individuals and families in need. Our services are accomplished under three programs which all seek to lessen financial hardship through assistance with basic personal and household items; they are, Our Closet, Pantry Refill and Welcome Home Baskets. By partnering with other San Diego non-profits and organization, TheR3SC is connected with individuals, families and communities who could benefit from assistance.
Development and Outreach Position
Responsible for a wide range of tasks and communications. Just as TheR3SC provides gap-fill resources for San Diego, I provide gap-gill resources to TheR3SC.
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My responsibilities include, but are not limited to organization and project budgeting, graphic design, online fundraising campaigns, finding and applying to grants, design and maintenance of an impact and event blog, outreach and partnership efforts with other San Diego non-profits and social media management. Upon beginning my position I purged previous budgets and social media accounts and started fresh with more organized, continuousness systems. I also developed scripted language for grant applications that could later be catered for specific requests and formed organizational relationships with project managers at WalkWithMe and HeadStart.
Media Psychology: A quantitative study examining the female experience in remote learning environments
Research Poster
Recorded Presentation
Social Media Recruitment Flyer
Introduction
Funding for this research was provided through my fellowship with the University of Maine Center for Undergraduate Research. The rationale for the study was provided by widespread acknowledgement of ‘Zoom fatigue’ and questions regarding its influence on productivity, education and mental health.
Drawing on popular media psychology theories and findings as well as public discourse, I asked whether the visual elements of Zoom may cause increased distraction and distress for female users, thus inhibiting their ability to learn within these environments. I elected to use an exclusively female sample as women are more likely to experience body image concerns, and in turn, report more extreme consequences.
My hope was that these findings could inform best practices for synchronous learning and working environments.
Methods
This was a quantitative, guided user study. A series of three online surveys were used to gather attitudinal and behavioral feedback pre- and post-stimulus exposure. Surveys were comprised of validated scales and of project-specific measures of media exposure.
In hindsight I realize that eye tracking would have been a very interesting method to explore in this project, though such methods would have been tricky given COVID-19 guidelines at the time.
As the principle investigator, I was responsible for independently recruiting, screening, testing and compensating over 200 participants. I was also responsible for producing an IRB application before recruitment could begin; this document was required to detail survey questions and embedded data methods, exact scripts for any interaction with participants and to validate all methods and variables in a detailed fashion.
Implications
I had anticipated that greater exposure to one’s own image on Zoom would result in increased cognitive load, and thus, poor cognitive performance. While analyses provide that camera settings do have a significant impact on cognitive performance, the results did not skew as predicted. These results indicate that while Zoom conditions do influence performance variables, this relationship is not explained by self-objectification.
These findings inform the conclusion that administrators should be flexible with camera settings. Future investigations should include participants of all genders and should take a more longitudinal approach in examining these conditions.
This project was accepted for presentation at the 2023 International Communications Association Conference and is under review for publishing.
Tech Development & UX Research at the VEMI Lab
To learn more about the lab:
General Overview
Due to confidentiality agreements, I am not able to plainly discuss the work that I was doing at the VEMI Lab. I can disclose that we were working with Toyota Research Institute for autonomous vehicle development, and that many of our efforts were aimed at improving and streamlining non-visual communication channels via user testing, desirability investigations and surveys.
Common Methods
In addition to measuring the usability of certain communication devices and methods, we evaluated accessibility to such technologies; disability status, geographic location, income, education level and fear were all routine considerations. Having a background in risk communication, I typically spearheaded discussions regarding fear, and was always a proponent for desirability studies on public messaging.
Given the broad range of testing and development being done at the lab, research methods varied greatly. In many cases I was working on in-lab research design and participant testing, thus spending a great deal of time on literature reviews, IRB documentation, participant recruitment, in-lab testing, report writing and editing and analyses. Given our objective, testing methods ranged from diary studies to usability benchmarking, to analytics.
Civic development through Beecoming the Change
A community driven "teen group" organized to pass on leadership skills, spread social awareness & integrate young people into the functionings of their community.
Check out this recent story about our group:
I developed this group in collaboration with Kim Leo, a devoted community leader and entrepreneur. The goal was to liven up and progress the small, rural area by providing a space for teens to gather and plan their own public events. As a group, we organized clothing drives, hosted concerts for local artists, gathered funds for charity donation, held public panels, and much more. In the process, we ensured a safe space for young people to speak their mind, discuss their problems and form bonds in unexpected places. ​
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As one may expect, organizing a bunch of teenagers is not light work, and motivating them to be vulnerable and creative in their planning can be even trickier. This was a great opportunity to test my organization and communication skills. The kids made it plenty of fun, though, and I am filled with nothing but pride for this group.
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Mission Statement: “To promote and grow positive and connected community by creating a safe environment for our peers to engage in kind acts, take risks and work toward a common goal.”