Fellows & Projects 2018-2019

 

Tianrae Chu, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College

Tianrae will work with teenagers at a local youth center to promote an understanding of healthy relationships, consent and safe sex.  This program aims to counteract the impact that using Internet-based pornography – a practice nearly ubiquitous among teens – has on shaping sexual scripts and attitudes.  Community Partner: The Junction Youth Center

 

Julia Danford and Lindsay Holdcroft, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College

Julia and Lindsay aim to decrease the isolation felt among senior citizens of the Upper Valley while increasing their quality of life and access to healthcare.  They plan to accomplish this by providing in-home healthcare checkups and visits, delivering nutritious meals, holding monthly community engagement events and partnering with the Upper Valley Memory Cafe.  Community Partner: Grafton County Senior Citizens Council

 

Jacqueline Gresham and Sand Mastrangelo, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College

Jacqueline and Sand aim to positively influence the mental and social domains of wellness for LGBTQ+  youth via an intentional Community Mentorship Program in rural New Hampshire.  Collaborating with Rural Outright, they seek to expand support services available to queer youth as they explore issues related to gender and sexuality.   Community Partner: TLC Family Resource Center

 

Kira Gressman and Kathryn Collier, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College

Kira and Kathryn will offer harm reduction services to people who inject drugs, including providing overdose and prevention education, clean needles and connecting them to community support resources.  They will also help ensure there is a structure for this program to be a long-term, sustainable community resource for Sullivan and Grafton counties in New Hampshire.  Community Partner: The HIV/HCV Resource Center

 

Kenneth Williams and Shuaibu Ali, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College

Kenneth and Shuaibu will further develop Upper Valley STEM Scholars, which seeks to help local high school students gain a deeper understanding of potential STEM careers.  They will facilitate opportunities in the Upper Valley that allow these students to gain exposure, engagement and mentorship in STEM fields. Community Partner: Hartford High School

 

Raghav Goyal and Nicholas Haslett, Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

Raghav and Nicholas are creating experiential encounters between the homeless population of Burlington, Vermont and the medical community to build understanding between these populations, and to co-create memories through meals, music, stories, and honest exploration.  Their goal is facilitate opportunities for interaction without the traditionally attendant power dynamics, and to do so under the guidance, experience, and leadership of homeless individuals. Community Partner: Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity

 

Alice Peng and Ellen Seyller, Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

Alice and Ellen are expanding upon the Step Up program, a twelve-week nutritional-based weight management program for cancer survivors.  They will broaden the program to include both men and women who will participate in monitored diary tracking and weekly educational classes focusing on behavioral interventions.  Through this integrative and personalized approach, participants will be encouraged to adopt and maintain sustainable healthy lifestyle changes. Community Partner: University of Vermont Cancer Center

 

Max Silverstein and Georges Tahhan, Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

Max and Georges will promote health among families who attend the Fathers and Children Together (FACT) program at the VNA Family Room. They will design and implement weekly programs focused on four main pillars of health – exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, and mentorship. Their goal is to foster the growth of healthy father-child relationships both in and out of the weekly meetings. Community Partner: VNA Family Room

 

Katrina Thornburgh, Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

Katrina will expand mobile syringe services to Franklin County, Vermont via the Vermont CARES mobile outreach van.  She will provide an accessible space for syringe exchange, harm reduction micro-counseling, and resource referrals. The goal of the program is to support participants as they reduce the risks associated with their injection drug use, and ultimately lower the rates of fatal overdose and injection-acquired illness.  Community Partner: Vermont CARES

 

Hannah Woodruff and Mary Ann Kelly, Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

Hannah and Mary Ann will teach classes on infant and child health for pregnant and new mothers in a residential mental health and substance abuse treatment program.  Their classes will focus on essential topics in infant and child health including infant sleep, infection prevention, immunizations, feeding and food allergies.  Community Partner: Lund Family Center

 

Ashleigh Angel, Vermont Law School

Ashleigh will design and implement Involvmint — a sustainable gardening program for local youth in South Royalton, Vermont. The youth will help plant, grow, and harvest the garden.  They will sell the garden produce at the local farmers market and donate the proceeds. Some of the produce will be donated to the local food shelf.  Involvmint will help the youth learn about the local food system and their community.  Community Partner: One Planet After School Program

 

Emily Donaldson and Ben Canellys, Vermont Law School

Ben and Emily will bring STEM to life by building aquaponic systems at South Royalton schools to teach the underlying scientific concepts of living systems.  Using a curriculum developed by Cultivating Action in Local Communities (CALC), they seek to create daily interactions that will foster each student’s academic growth and enthusiasm for learning.  Community Partner: South Royalton Schools

 

Jacob Oblak, Vermont Law School

Jacob will implement an automated notification system to help individuals get to court on the correct day, at the correct time, and prepared to face a judge.  This project aims to reduce the number of pre-conviction imprisonment that largely affects Vermont’s most at-risk citizens. Community Partner: Windsor County Pretrial Services