Esther Min

“I attended the University of California, Davis for my B.S. in Animal Science. I started working in a lab during my sophomore year and became a full-time lab technician upon graduation. I pursued my MPH as an evening student. As part of my practicum, I developed a 12-week water justice curriculum for a statewide coalition that helps communities access safe, affordable drinking water. When I decided to pursue a PhD, I looked for a program that had strong community relationships and the PhD in Environmental and Occupational Hygiene at the University of Washington was the perfect fit.

I’m currently working on two environmental justice related projects. In one of the projects, I’m working with Dr. Edmund Seto to develop an environmental justice mapping tool to help communities prioritize resources and learn about policies that can help them address health disparities. I’m also working with Dr. Catherine Karr to learn from a community-engaged research project focused on improving pediatric asthma outcomes in the Yakima Valley. In the future, I hope to stay in academia and become a researcher and instructor. I did not have the opportunity to learn about the environmental justice framework and community engaged research until later in my training, so I hope to introduce undergraduate students to these important concepts early in their education.”