The Academic Minute from 03.28 – 04.01
Monday, March 28th
Todd Ferry – Portland State University
Best Practices When Building Tiny Home Villages to Address Homelessness
Todd Ferry is a Senior Research Associate and Faculty Fellow at the Center for Public Interest Design (CPID) within the Portland State University School of Architecture, and has been with PSU since 2013. He teaches a range of architecture design studios and courses on Public Interest Design, Design Thinking for Social Innovation, and Design-Build Fieldwork.
Tuesday, March 29th
Kacy McKinney – Portland State University
Changing the Narrative Around Student Homelessness through Collaborative Comics
Dr. Kacy McKinney is a critical feminist geographer and a visual artist. She is an Instructor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. She is the chair of the Belonging, Justice, and Dignity Committee in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning and she serves on the faculty advisory council for Comics Studies at PSU. She served on the Board of Directors of Sisters of the Road – a non-profit organization working to create systemic change to end poverty and homelessness – from 2018 to 2021, as the Secretary and then as Chair of the Board. She is a graduate of the Certificate Program in Comics from the Independent Publishing Resource Center.
Wednesday, March 30th
Elliott Gall – Portland State University
Improving Indoor Air Quality During Wildfire Smoke Events
Dr. Elliott Gall is an assistant professor at Portland State University (PSU) in the department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He received his B.S.E. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. At PSU, Dr. Gall leads the Healthy Buildings Research Laboratory, which aims to conduct fundamental and applied research exploring the many factors that impact our exposure to air pollution inside buildings. Current research areas include evaluation of indoor air pollution in near-roadway buildings and indoor air quality during wildfire events. Evaluation of air cleaning technologies and interventions to reduce indoor exposures to air pollution are another current focus.
Thursday, March 31st
Elise Granek – Portland State University
Understanding the Impacts of Anthropogenic Stressors on the Ecosystems of Coastal Transition Zones
Dr. Elise Granek graduated with her MES from Yale University and went on to earn her PhD from Oregon State. Her general fields of study include marine ecology, conservation biology, mangrove-coral reef interactions, land-sea connections; disturbance ecology, and marine conservations science and policy.
Dr. Granek’s research focuses on the transition zone between land and sea examining how coastal and subtidal habitats interact in terms of biotic and abiotic processes. These studies specifically focus on organism movement and nutrient/energy flow between terrestrial-coastal-subtidal systems.
Friday, April 1st
Greg Townley – Portland State University
Findings From a Mixed-Methods Evaluation of an Alternative First Responder Program
Dr. Greg Townley is an Associate Professor of Community Psychology at Portland State University and co-founder of PSU’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina, his M.A. in Psychology from the University of South Carolina, and B.A.s in Psychology and Africana Studies from North Carolina State University. Dr. Townley’s research examines community inclusion and supportive housing of individuals experiencing serious mental illnesses and homelessness.
