Closing the gap between policy and community needs

When Jill first decided to pursue a PhD in Education, she sought out programs where she could examine her growing passion for social justice in schools and use her undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry. While on a campus visit, she met Bill Tate, chair of the Department of Education, who encouraged her to explore her line of thinking here at Washington University.

Prior to starting the PhD program, Jill’s career included teaching at a “street school,” for kids on the verge of dropping out. During this time, she realized there was a disconnect between policy development and community needs. This experience jump-started her thinking about how policy changes could significantly impact people who need help.

At Washington University, she earned a research assistantship working with the Center for Inquiry in Science Teaching and Learning. Though the topic of Jill’s thesis was not clear in the beginning, she soon became focused on helping communities faced with lead contamination. While taking “Neighborhood, Schools & Social Inequality” with Professor Carol Camp Yeakey, Director of the Center for Urban Research & Public Policy, she learned about a Midwestern town, home to a large lead plant. The town had been grappling with how to deal with lead contamination since 2000 -- the year a spatial relationship study of the town showed 56% of the kids living near the plant had elevated lead levels.

Jill explains that “science develops along with social need.” Now in her 4th year of the PhD program, Jill is exploring the impact of lead contamination on this community. She seeks answers to such questions as “How does a community face lead contamination? and “Does policy address the problems as the people understand it?”

After Jill completes her PhD, she plans to return to her passion: teaching.