Principal Investigators

Mary Waters is the PVK Professor of Arts and Sciences and the John L. Loeb Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. Her work has focused on the integration of immigrants and their children, the transition to adulthood for the children of immigrants, intergroup relations, and the measurement and meaning of racial and ethnic identity. She is the author of over 75 articles and chapters on racial and ethnic identity, immigrant assimilation, and natural disaster recovery. Her work with the RISK Project has focused on post-Katrina mobility, neighborhood effects, and the health outcomes of survivors and their children.

Jean Rhodes is the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology and the Research Director for the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She has devoted her career to understanding and advancing the role of intergenerational relationships in the intellectual, social, educational, and career development of youth. She has published three books, four edited volumes, and over 150 chapters and peer-reviewed articles on topics related to positive youth development, the transition to adulthood, natural disaster, and mentoring. Her work with the RISK Project has focused on post-Katrina health and mental health outcomes, with particular focus on the role of social support.

Sarah Lowe is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Yale School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the long-term mental health consequences of a range of potentially traumatic events, as well as the impact of such events on other domains of functioning, such as physical health, social relationships, and economic wellbeing. Her work explores the mechanisms leading from trauma exposure to symptoms, and the role of factors at various ecological levels – from genetics to neighborhoods – in shaping risk and resilience.

Mariana Arcaya is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Public Health at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her work, at the intersection and public health and urban planning, explores dynamic relationships between place and health. Dr. Arcaya’s scholarly research investigates how the environment -including built, social, and economic conditions affects health. Reciprocally, she also explores how health shapes socioeconomic outcomes for individuals and communities. Her applied and translational research on the social determinants of health tackles the ways in which urban policy and planning decisions shape health risk factors. In both her scholarly and applied work, Dr. Arcaya maintains a focus on health disparities, social justice, and environmental sustainability.

Ethan Raker is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. His research agenda focuses on socio-spatial inequality, climate change, health, and neighborhoods. He is particularly interested in the empirical application of novel, large-scale administrative and climate data to address theoretical questions about the relationship between the environment and society. Some of his work has been published in Annual Review of Sociology, American Journal of Public Health, Demography, Health Affairs, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Social Science & Medicine, among other outlets.