Meet the team
Breathe Providence is based out of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, with faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students making up our core research team. Since this project is deeply rooted in community, we have also partnered with local, national, and global organizations, all of whom have been crucial to the success of the project.
Our research team
Meredith Hastings
Dr. Meredith Hastings is Breathe Providence’s project lead. She is a professor of Environment and Society and of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University, as well as the chair of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences. Her research areas include atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemistry, and climate. Meredith is also a Providence resident, a mom of two daughters, and a co-founder of a non-profit called the Earth Science Women’s Network, which is dedicated to supporting diversity in science and promoting professional development of early career scientists.
Emma Blankstein
Emma serves as the project coordinator. She graduated from Brown in 2026 with degrees in Environmental Science and History. Her senior thesis, which was researched in close collaboration with the Resident Task Force, explored the gaps in state and community understandings of schools built on hazardous sites. Her work also includes data analysis, project planning, and student mentorship.p.
Jack Lardner
Jack graduated from Brown in 2026 with degrees in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. His work with Breathe Providence has focused on sensor calibration and field work. This summer, he is collaborating with Dr. Allan Just at the Brown School of Public Health to use satellite data to validate a nitrogen dioxide calibration for the sensor network.
Calissa Snyder Cox
Calissa is a senior concentrating in Urban Studies and Economics. She is studying the economic impacts of air pollution and related respiratory diseases in Providence.
Vivien Chen
Vivien is a PhD student interested in the intersection of public health and exposure to environmental hazards. Before coming to Brown, she spent several years working at Esri, the developer of the spatial analysis tool ArcGIS. Her work with Breathe Providence thus far has centered on the dynamics of air and noise pollution in the city.
Lily Lustig
Lily does communications for Breathe Providence, generating and editing content for the team website and quarterly newsletter. She graduated from Brown in 2023 with degrees in Environmental Studies and English and now serves as a full-time communications coordinator for the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES), where the Breathe Providence project is based.
Undergraduate researchers
Former members
Grace Berg: Grace served as the project coordinator from 2022-2025. She graduated from Brown in 2021 with an Sc.B in Geology-Biology. Her senior thesis, completed in Dr. Hastings research group, made the case for hyperlocal air monitoring in Providence. Her primary focus was developing Breathe Providence’s air monitor and community partnership networks. Grace is now pursuing her PhD in Environmental Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Wendell Walters: Dr. Wendell Walters worked primarily on guiding calibration and correction efforts for the data. As an assistant research professor of Environment and Society, his work broadly focused on understanding the impacts that humans have had on the composition of the atmosphere, biosphere, and climate. Dr. Walters now an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina.
Meg Fay: Meg graduated from Brown in 2023 with degrees in Chemistry and Environmental Science. They were instrumental in preparing the monitors for deployment and worked primarily on correcting and analyzing the particulate matter data. Meg is now pursuing a Master’s at the University of Vermont, studying the impacts of transportation on air pollution.
Vasu Jayanthi: Vasu graduated from Brown in 2023 with an Sc.B. in Environmental Science. Her efforts focused on community engagement, environmental justice, and youth education. She collaborated with the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences’ youth outreach program, DEEPS CORES, to implement some of the project’s guiding scientific principles into a curriculum for Hope High School.Vasu is now pursuing a Master’s of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University.
Olivia McClain: Liv graduated in the class of ’22.5 and concentrated in Environmental Science. As a summer researcher, she interviewed community members to add a narrative aspect to the team’s data. She is now a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Cote d’Ivoire.
Livia Gimenes: Livia graduated from Brown in 2023 with degrees in Computer Science and English. She brought her experience in data processing to help refine and condense our data correction code, and she developed the interactive pollution concentration map on our website. Livia now works as a software engineer at Tensure Consulting.
Aissata Barry: Aissata, Wellesley College class of 2025, joined Breathe Providence through theLeadership Alliance REU program. She developed educational curricula, hands-on activities, and communication materials for Breathe Providence's summer 2023 outreach events.
Kate Farber: Kate, University of San Francisco class of 2024.5, also joined Breathe Providence through theLeadership Alliance REU program. She studied the impacts of the 2023 Canadian wildfires on Providence air quality, examining how meteorological conditions brought wildfire smoke to the city and how it disrupted neighborhood-scale pollution dynamics.
Emma Amselem Bensadon: Emma is a member of the class of 2024 concentrating in Environmental Engineering. She spent the fall of 2023 developing a preliminary NO₂ correction scheme to improve the accuracy and precision of the data.
Evan Donnachie: Evan graduated from Brown in 2024 with degrees in Geology-Biology and Literary Arts. He worked with volatile organic compound (VOC) data and with resident reports of odors by the Port of Providence.
Adam Gendreau: Adam graduated from Brown in 2024 with degrees in Urban Studies and Environmental Science. His senior thesis explored transportation impacts on pollution in Providence, finding elevated levels of CO near heavily-trafficked corridors. Adam now works as a transportation planner for the consulting company Stantec.
Cade Woodcock: Cade graduated from Brown in 2024 with a degree in Geology-Biology. Cade developed case studies demonstrating the project’s areas of strength and identified steps the project could take towards building policy impact.
Asiah Donahue: Asiah (Xavier University of Louisiana ‘25) joined Breathe Providence through theLeadership Alliance REU program, focusing on accessible outreach and communications materials. She co-facilitated Breathe Providence’s summer 2024 outreach events and developed materials on the risks of extreme heat and air pollution.
Nicole Samios: Nicole graduated from Brown in 2024 with a degree in Architecture. Nicole developed a digital repository for student research and did visual communications for Breathe Providence (she designed theResident Task Force page). Nicole is now at Tufts University studying for a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning.
Allyssa Foster: Allyssa graduated from Brown in 2025 with a degree in Environmental Studies. She assisted with sensor maintenance, data analysis, and the Resident Task Force. Allyssa previously completed an internship with the RI Department of Environmental Management Office of Air Resources. Allyssa is now a Climate Action Fellow with the California Climate Action Corps.
Dawson Phillips: Dawson graduated from Brown in 2025 with degrees in Environmental Studies and Visual Arts. He designed “artifacts” that summarized key Breathe Providence findings and impacts for public audiences. Dawson now works as the Research and Policy Coordinator at Air Alliance Houston.
Liza Marcus: Liza graduated from Brown in 2026 with degrees in Chemistry and Africana Studies. She studied wildfire contributions to particulate matter pollution in Providence over the past decade. She wrote her senior thesis on nitrogen dioxide and ozone oxidation pathways. Liza is now pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at Caltech.
Kendall Kwarko: Kendall graduated from Brown in 2025 with degrees in Health & Human Biology and Geology-Chemistry. She supported PhD student Vivien Chen’s research studying the relationship between outdoor air pollution and respiratory diseases in Providence. Kendall wrote her senior thesis on the impacts of WaterFire events on particulate pollution. She now works as a medical scribe and is preparing to attend medical school.
Sophia Decherney: Sophia graduated from Brown in 2025 with degrees in Philosophy and Literary Arts. She researched legal frameworks and policy precedents for mitigating air pollution issues raised by the first Resident Task Force, including noxious odors and indoor air pollution. Sophia is now pursuing her J.D. at Stanford Law School.
Carmen Silva: Carmen graduated from Brown in 2026 with a degree in Environmental Sciences and Studies. She assisted with Breathe Providence’s digital communications, including the website and the quarterly newsletter.
Madeleine Connery: Madeleine is a senior at Brown concentrating in Environmental Studies and Economics. She researched policy gaps and regulatory oversight in local air monitoring systems, focusing on odor complaints and air pollution at the Port of Providence.
Mike Woodilla: Mike is a senior at Brown concentrating in Mathematics and Computer Science. His project involved creating new frameworks to ensure the reliability of low-cost air quality sensors in periods when data from reference-grade sensors was limited.
Jack Dong
Jack is a sophomore concentrating in Environmental Engineering and Urban Studies. He is researching the site investigation processes for schools built on hazardous sites, in response to questions raised by the second Resident Task Force.
Clara Murray
Clara is a sophomore concentrating in Earth and Planetary Sciences and History. She is analyzing particulate matter and greenhouse gas data in the North End neighborhood and Port of Providence.
Eshan Alam
Eshan is a sophomore concentrating in Mechanical Engineering. He is supporting PhD student Emma Witanowski and research associate Sol Cooperdock in the creation of a low-cost temperature sensor network to measure intra-urban disparities in heat.
Our partners
These organizations have played active roles in building the Breathe Providence network while championing the climate, health, and environmental justice needs of the community. Through these partnerships, we hope to open channels for sharing air pollution information directly with community members.
Clean Air Fund (CAF)
CAF is a “global philanthropic organization working with governments, funders, business, and campaigners to create a future where everyone breathes clean air.” CAF funded Breathe London — a significant predecessor to Breathe Providence — and now funds our work as well.
Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)
Through our partnership with RIDOH’s Asthma Control Program, we are laying the groundwork for connecting Breathe Providence data to local health initiatives.
Racial & Environmental Justice Committee (REJC)
REJC’s mission is to work against and transform current and historic social inequities. In addition to being the co-authors of Providence’s Climate Justice Plan, REJC has championed community involvement in the Breathe Providence project.
American Lung Association (ALA)
As a part of ALA’s mission to improve lung health and prevent lung disease, it publishes the annual State of the Air report summarizing statewide air quality. The Rhode Island ALA also hosts a healthy air collaborative that convenes local agency and community stakeholders, including Breathe Providence.
City of Providence Dept. of Sustainability
The Department aims to implement policies and programs that will create a healthy, low-carbon, climate resilient, and environmentally just city. This partnership provides mutual support for projects that further environmental justice and air pollution awareness.
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)
CLF is an environmental advocacy organization based in New England. CLF is currently collaborating with the REJC to craft legislation defining and protecting green justice zones in Providence. Together, we plan to convene a Resident Task force to collaboratively analyze and utilize Breathe Providence data.
RI Health Equity Zones (HEZs)
HEZs seek to address the social determinants of health in their communities. We have partnered with three HEZs: the West Elmwood 02907 HEZ, Central Providence Opportunities HEZ, and South Providence HEZ. Together, we have been able to identify meaningful monitoring locations and initiatives that this work can support.
RI Dept. of Environmental Management (RIDEM)
RIDEM has been a valuable parter for sharing local air quality expertise and reference-grade monitoring data. Several of or air monitors are co-located with DEM monitors for calibration and correction purposes.
Brown University’s DEEPS CORES
Members of our team have been working with The Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences’ Career Opportunities and Research in Earth Science (DEEPS CORES) to bring air pollution and environmental justice curricula to Hope High School Students.
Brown University’s Community Noise Lab
Based at Brown’s School of Public Health, the Community Noise Lab most recently supported our air filter building sessions at the Knight Memorial and South Providence Libraries, contributing supplies and helping to run the events.