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Current Scholars
Dr. Rishi Awatramani
Rishi Awatramani received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Johns Hopkins University. His research examines the racial politics of the working-class, and historical patterns of social protest, globally and in the U.S. His research interests are in the fields of race and ethnicity, labor and social movements, urban sociology, and political economy.
Dr. Ezinne Nwankwo
Dr. Ezinne Nwankwo is ERI’s Waverley Street Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar 2025-2026. She was previously ERI’s National Equity Atlas Postdoctoral Fellow 2023 and a graduate of UCLA with her doctorate in Community Health Sciences. Ezinne’s research examines how systemic exclusions and structural inequities shape health outcomes across populations and places. Her recent work includes an analysis of health insurance coverage among Black immigrant adults and an examination of how county-level sociopolitical contexts influence population health, including birth outcomes.
Dr. Lucy Pei
Dr. Lucy Pei is a Community Power Postdoctoral Scholar at ERI. Lucy earned her Ph.D. in Informatics at UC Irvine, with a dissertation focused on transnational solidarity and labor organizing among workers made precarious by technology-mediated work. This project was based on a long-term ethnographic accompaniment with migrant gig worker organizers in Latin America. Lucy’s work also has sought to collaborate with communities to develop ways to engage openly with the downsides of technological intervention (i.e. “tech for good”) while still trying to more equitably distribute the benefits of technological innovation. Lucy’s research is in conversation with fields including informatics and information studies, human computer interaction and design, science and technology studies (STS), labor studies, and global studies.
Dr. Uriel Serrano
Dr. Uriel Serrano is a Community Power Postdoctoral Scholar at ERI. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz. His research sits at the intersection of sociology, education, critical criminology, and ethnic studies. It examines policing, community organizing, and the social conditions facing racially minoritized youth in Los Angeles County. Uriel has over a decade of experience as a youth worker and facilitator of community-engaged research projects, including youth participatory action research.
Dr. Connie Valencia MPH, CHES, PhD
Dr. Connie Valencia is a Sustainability Solutions Community Engagement Fellow. Connie is a recent graduate of UCI with her doctorate in Public Health from the department of Population Health and Disease Prevention. Connie’s research is focused on understanding the role that neighborhood resources have in engaging residents relevant to exposure of air pollution and health. Connie examines lived experiences using mixed methods including qualitative research methods and community based participatory research. Connie believes that her research will provide a better understanding of the protective role of neighborhood institutions on air pollution exposure among Hispanic/Latino ethnic enclaves and the challenges faced by each community.