Jennifer Irving is a Science Policy Fellow through the National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Program. As part of this program, Ms. Irving supports HARC’s Water team and the Climate Equity and Community Engagement team. Her projects include the Galveston Bay Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan, the Department of Energy’s Weatherization project, and a community engagement project for the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI).
Ms. Irving has a broad background in environmental science and public health, with expertise in community engagement, community-based participatory research, qualitative research methods, and spatial analysis. Prior to joining HARC, Ms. Irving worked in water resource management, and as Research Translation Coordinator for the Louisiana State University (LSU) Superfund Research Program, where she focused on engaging with communities and stakeholders impacted by hazardous waste facilities.
Ms. Irving earned a Master of Public Health from LSU Health Sciences in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a Bachelor of Arts with triple major in Biology, Geology, and Public Policy from Washington and Lee University.
Ms. Irving is currently a PhD candidate in Environmental Sciences at LSU. Her dissertation research focuses on developing a deeper understanding of how cumulative environmental exposures at the community level adversely affect human health.
Authored Publications and Related Projects
Odera M., Kelley, B., Rivers, L., Wilson, A., Tran, J., Patel, K., Valle, B., Subra, W., Cramer, J., Irving, J., Reams, M., Richmond-Bryant, J. (2023). A community-engaged oral history study as a tool for understanding environmental justice aspects of human exposures to hazardous waste thermal treatment emission in Colfax, LA. Environmental Justice.
Richmond-Bryant, J., Odera, M., Subra, W., Vallee, B., Tucker, C., Oliver, C., Wilson, A., Tran, J., Kelley, B., Cramer, J., Irving, J., Guo, C., and Reams, M. (2022). A community-integrated geographic information system study of air pollution exposure impacts in Colfax, LA. Local Environment, 27(6), pp 728-746.
Reams, M. and Irving, J. (2019) Applying community resilience theory to engagement with residents facing cumulative environmental exposure risks: Lessons from Louisiana’s industrial corridor. Reviews on Environmental Health, 34(3), pp 235-244.
