Ongoing Projects

Joan Fitzgerald: An Initiative to Create Green Technology Career Ladders in Boston & Oakland

  • The goal of this project is to examine green economy career ladder programs around the country to determine what works and what doesn’t. In collaboration with community organizations, high schools, community colleges, and universities, this project will develop at least one green technology career ladder program in both Boston and Oakland to serve youth in frontline communities. ​

NNeka N. Allen-Harrison: Bay Area Black Voices: Employment Outcomes of the Black Labor Force in The San Francisco Bay Area

  • To investigate employment trends of Black labor force in SF Bay Area and how empowerment learning can help improve economic outcomes for Black-identifying individuals. ​

Adam Parker: Care Can’t Wait

  • The goal of this research is to look at the programs that California has implemented with ARPA funds for the Home and Community Based Services efforts to see if there was improvement in caregiver satisfaction, quality of life, and access to beneficial knowledge.​

Adaora Ubaka: Determining the Organizational Social Conditions That Enable Leaders to Surpass Precarious Leadership Roles

  • The goal of this project is to conduct a study that captures the experiences of employees working at the Y of Greater Boston through a survey. ​

Alicia Modestino: Improving Job Quality in the Childcare Sector: Assessing the JVS Job Quality Benchmarking Index

  • The goal of this project was to assess the use of JVS Boston’s Job Quality Benchmarking Index (JQBI); a tool that employers can use to measure the quality of their positions against their peers. It provides recommendations to employers for specific areas of improvement across 5 pillars: Wages, Benefits, Scheduling, Access to Career Ladders, and Supportive Environment. The evaluation included insights drawn from a series of qualitative interviews conducted with JVS Boston employer partners and their employees. The resulting report highlighted the strengths of the JQBI as well as recommendations for its future expanded use across other industries.​

Cliff Lee: Creative Industry Pathway and the Future of Oakland

  • This project evaluates the impact of creative industry pathway programs in the Oakland school system. Partnering with Civic Design Studio, the goal of the study is to better understand how we can support workforce development efforts for youth and introduce them to various mediums of design through public art projects.​

Beth Molnar: TEAM Health: Technology-Enhanced Approaches to Mental Health Navigation in Families with Young Children

  • The goal of this project is to develop innovative technological tools to help decrease gaps in screening, referrals, and services for parents in need of family partners for assistance in raising children with health/mental health difficulties. This project is user-centered, with a participatory design approach to help enhance and personalize care coordination and family support.​

Alicia Modestino: Summer Youth Employment

  • Dr. Modestino’s ongoing work with the City of Boston supporting their youth summer job program research has resulted in a report which details the positive short- and long-term outcomes of the program. ​