Research areas

My research interests concern themselves with the dynamics of food and housing security, both on a country-wide and global scale. My previous research includes examining the perception of the affordability and accessibility of on-campus dining options at California State University Chico. Using the data collected from this research, I spearheaded the first meal swipe donation program on the Chico campus in 2019.

More recently, I conducted research in partnership with the Rural Grocery Initiative and the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative, part of K-State’s Research and Extension, to better understand the current status and needs of rural grocery stores across the state of Kansas. Presenting this research at the National Rural Grocery Summit in 2022, I was able to cross examine the data collected in my research with similar data that was collected roughly a decade prior to my analysis. Currently, I am exploring the dynamics of food insecurity among chronically unhoused homeless individuals within historically segregated metropolitan cities across the United States.

• Qualitative and ethnographic studies
• Basic needs
• Leadership within the global food system
• Race relations
• Poverty and malnourishment

As an undergraduate student at CSU Chico, Jess worked within the on-campus food pantry where she assisted students with applying for, maintaining, and renewing their SNAP benefits. During this same time, Jess spearheaded the Swipe Against Hunger program, the first-of-its kind meal swipe donation program on the Chico campus. Before moving to Kansas to pursue graduate school in 2021, Jess served as a Community Nutrition Program Assistant and Multi-Media Lead for the Center for Healthy Communities of Chico California where she gained experience providing SNAP outreach targeted toward college students.

• Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociological Honors Society
• American Sociological Association (ASA)
• California Association for Bilingual Educators (CABE)

• 2020 Center for Healthy Communities Student Excellence Award
• 2020 CSU Chico Outstanding Student Leadership Award
• 2020 Glenn Kendall Public Service Award
• 2020 Sociology Outstanding Student Award
• 2020 Student of the Year Award, College of Behavioral and Social Science
• 2020 Valene Smith BSS Outstanding Student Award
• 2019 Candi Hironaka Outstanding Class Leader Award
• 2019 Dr. Barbara Holland Peevers Memorial Scholarship
• 2018 Mexican Consulate Scholarship
• 2017 California Association for Bilingual Education Scholarship
• 2016 Indian Education Consortium Scholarship
• 2016 Indian Education Consortium Student of the Year

• B.A. in sociology, California State University Chico
• M.A. student in sociology, Kansas State University
• M.P.H. student at Kansas State University
• Graduate Certificate student in social justice education, Kansas State University

I enjoy traveling to new places, and meeting people who share different beliefs, values, and life experiences than me. I live by the philosophy that our ability to connect with other people becomes most abundant when we seek to understand others, instead of attempting to agree or disagree with them.