SIROW Welcome New Staff!!

Imelda G. Cortez joined SIROW this year as a Research Specialist supporting the Health, Home, Hope (H3) Project working to end cycles of homelessness. As a former educator, Imelda now pursues a PhD in Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies. Deeply familiar with the rich forms of learning her neighborhood cultivated within her, Imelda explores in her dissertation research the impacts of gentrification on her neighborhood and how displacement disrupts identity, community, culture, and learning. Conducting multimodal research that captures the "sounds and sights of gentrification", Imelda explores how educational opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom, are shaped by one's connection to space and place. Imelda views her current work with H3 as an opportunity to learn more about the experiences of those who've already been displaced and the services that can help reconnect people to place, learning, and each other.