Mecca Burris

Mecca Burris is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University. She recently received her M.A. in applied anthropology from the University of South Florida. Mecca’s research has focused on issues of food insecurity among vulnerable groups, particularly adolescents and older adults. She has worked extensively with community organizations, including the Hunger Action Alliance, Childhood Hunger Initiative, and the Monteverde Institute of Costa Rica, applying participatory action research to better understand the risks, determinants, experiences, and biocultural consequences of food insecurity at various life-course stages.

Tashelle Wright

Tashelle Wright is a third-year PhD student in Public Health at the University of California, Merced. She works with Dr. Nancy J. Burke in the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) Lab. She received her MSPH in May 2018 and is the Chair for the Merced County ACCT (A Community Counteracting Tobacco) Coalition. Prior to UC Merced, she worked for a state health department in their Office of Health Disparities. As a PhD student, her area of focus is oral health and tobacco use disparities among underserved populations (e.g. older adults, Blacks, Latinx and immigrants). Her current research project includes qualitative research on the oral health environment in three rural San Joaquin Valley counties through interviews and focus groups. Her long-term goal is to have an academic career teaching and conducting research that is intersectional, culturally-relevant, and community-based.