Building Recovery-Ready Rural Communities Describe your initiative. My initiative, Building Recovery-Ready Rural Communities, is a long-term engaged research partnership designed to create sustainable recovery infrastructure in East Tennessee and beyond. It began with the Building Connections Across the Bridge grant, which funded a transformative site visit to Texas for our partner, Align9. This experience—including a […]
The Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives Featuring Jeanie Lim and Michelle Childs Describe your initiative. The Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives (SDBII), funded by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and based at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, helps dairy producers across the Southeast build more resilient, value-added businesses. In partnership with the Center […]
Food 4 VOLS jr. Describe your project: The Food4VOLS Jr. initiative was launched to ensure that children in grades K–12 across Knox County had consistent access to nutritious meals during the summer months, when school-provided meals were unavailable. Made possible through a generous $10,000 grant from First Horizon Bank, the program built on the successful […]
On May 8, faculty and researchers from the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS) and the College of Social Work came together for a full-day, skills-based workshop on Rapid Qualitative Methodology to Support Community-Engaged Research.
Since 2020 I have had the privilege to collaborate with Denise Dean, East Tennessee Freedom Schools Executive Director, to incorporate phonics instruction to the Freedom Schools’ summer reading program.
The fourth annual eVOLve conference was a success, reaching the maximum number of attendees for both in-person and virtual. The 2025 theme of “Meeting Community Needs” weaved throughout the day with the keynote speaker and breakout sessions.
Lyndsey Hornbuckle Describe your project: Cardiometabolic diseases have been shown to affect Black men and women at higher rates than other groups in the U.S. Physical activity can reduce the risk for these diseases, but few studies have looked at how Black adults can get enough activity to benefit their health. These studies are necessary […]
Samara Akpovo Describe your project: The “Parents and Caregivers as Educational Partners Collaborative” is funded by the Community Action Committee (CAC) Housing and Urban and Development (HUD) Choice Neighborhoods Transform Western Heights (WH) Grant. The aim of this program is to provide family-led educational experiences for the residents of the Western Heights neighborhood who are […]
