Resilience Fellows Projects

Bringing together the university and community for transformative research

Each year a cohort of passionate individuals from the university and community come together to develop knowledge to strengthen community resilience. Fellows focus on four main resilience themes (FUSE) and collaborate closely with community stakeholders.

Explore the unique projects of 30+ KER fellows and learn about heat-resilience strategies beyond handing out water; explore the potential for more natural play spaces; discover how data visualization improves mobile food pantry outreach; find resources to grow your own food - and many more!

A homeless man receiving care

Krickette Wetherington, Valley of the Sun United Way

S : Shelter and the Built Environment

A young farmer and father

Joseph Rossell, City of Phoenix

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
E : Economic Security and Work

Lake Powell

Bradley Adame, ASU Hugh Downs School of Human Communication

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
E : Economic Security and Work

Paideia Academy

Stephanie Lechuga-Peña, ASU School of Social Work

U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities

Stack of U.S. dollar bills

Steve Torres, Valley of the Sun United Way

U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

Unsheltered Phoenicians camp in the zone

Eric "Half" Brickley, Feed Phoenix

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment

Satellite image of the continental U.S. at night

Tina Skjerping Drews, Salt River Project

Lauren Withycombe Keeler, ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

Family caregiver holding an elder's arm

Rachel Smetana, City of Scottsdale, Office of the Mayor

U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities

Circuit board

Kenan Song, ASU School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy; The Polytechnic School

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment

Map of Southside Mesa

Augie Gastelum, RAIL CDC

Rafael Martínez Orozco, Southwest Borderlands, ASU College of Integrative Sciences and Arts

S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

Water protectors protest DAPL

Felicia Mitchell, ASU School of Social Work

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities

Paideia Academy students play in the school's new naturespace

Brian Winsor, Paideia Academies, Inc.

U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities

Side panels of Watershed: Arizona board game

Ian Dowdy, Center for the Future of Arizona

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

$Map of fractionated land$

Doran Dalton, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

Phoenix cityscape at sunset

Diana Bowman, ASU Center for Smart Cities and Regions

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

a person holding a house cutout

Thaddeus Gassie, Crisis Response Network

A data-driven and inclusive plan to addressing homelessness

S : Shelter and the Built Environment

Blurry twinkle lights

Mikhail Chester, ASU School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment

child playing with toy

Kristina Lopez, ASU School of Social Work

Exploring the gaps in care for Latinx and minority children diagnosed with autism.

E : Economic Security and Work

Phoenix skyline at dusk

Anne Reichman, ASU Sustainable Cities Network

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities
S : Shelter and the Built Environment

A community meeting

Molly Benton, Maricopa County Department of Health

U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities

Mural in Mesa's Distrito Latino

Ryan Winkle, RAIL CDC

S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

Mattresses below an underpass

Margaret Adams, Corporation for Supportive Housing

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
S : Shelter and the Built Environment
E : Economic Security and Work

Women collaborating

Erica Hodges, ASU & St. Vincent de Paul Program Manager

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
S : Shelter and the Built Environment

Jenni with a weather station

Jennifer Vanos, ASU School of Sustainability

U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities

parent spraying child

Andres Baeza-Castro, ASU Global Drylands Center

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions

Michael Shafer, PhD. gives nursing students tour of Westward Ho facility

Hyunsung Oh, ASU School of Social Work

Oh models the impact of community norms on individual illness management

U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities

Senior person asking for food or money.

Julia Matthies, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul

S : Shelter and the Built Environment

Chainlink fence

Adonias Arevalo, Valley of the Sun United Way

Arevalo draws from personal narratives to address the overlap between incarceration and homelessness

S : Shelter and the Built Environment

Future renewable energy solution for sustainable cities. Modern black frameless solar panels, battery energy storage facility, wind turbines and big city with skycrapers in background. 3d rendering.

Joshua Loughman, ASU Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions

A plate of food

Nathan Smith, Phoenix Rescue Mission

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions

A foster family

Naketa Ross, ResilientMe

S : Shelter and the Built Environment

fruit tree

Janis Norton, Urban Farm LLC

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions

Woman hands to drink water with children hands green leaf background

Melanie Gall, Center for Emergency Management Homeland Security (CEMHS)

F : Food, Energy and Water Transitions
U : Urban Heat and Healthy Communities