Liana Ysabel Bautista
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
UROP Fellowship: Detroit Community-Engaged Research Program
Research Mentor(s): Debbie Fisher
Hope Village Revitilization Center
Presentation Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 | DCERP Showcase
Authors: Liana Ysabel Bautista
Abstract
Hello! My name is Ysabel Bautista (pronouns she/her/hers). I’m a rising senior majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience on the pre-med path. I worked with HOPE Village Revitalization, a community-development corporation serving the HOPE Village neighborhood on the northwest side of Detroit. They mitigate disparities in wealth, privilege, education, and health while ensuring that every resident is a stakeholder in their neighborhood. We both share a passion for providing person-centered aid, which is what initially attracted me to the organization. My project was to evaluate the fresh local food programs and weekly Farmers Market so that everyone in the HOPE Village has access to fresh, affordable food. I primarily created marketing tools to advertise the market and local health initiatives, analyzed vendor, customer, and food assistance data, and found volunteers for the community garden and market. It was a gratifying opportunity to reduce the impact of food insecurity and better the health of the neighborhood. I experienced firsthand how impactful community work can be when residents and leaders sustainably work together. Even though the fellowship had to be conducted remotely, I appreciated how HVR made me feel connected to the team and the neighborhood. Working everyday 9-5 from my laptop in Ann Arbor teleported me to this organization in Detroit this summer, and I hope that I can visit them in-person soon!
Research Disciplines
Social Sciences, Community-Engaged, Public Health
