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Ember McCoy
Ember McCoy (she/her) works at the intersection of science, technology, and society, critical environmental justice, and political ecology to examine the gap between U.S. environmental governance and lay expertise. She has a professional background in lobbying and community organizing and is particularly passionate about community-engaged research and teaching. Outside of research, Ember puts her passions and skills to practice through climate, housing, and labor organizing with UM’s graduate student union, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO #3550), and the City of Ann Arbor’s Energy Commission.
Education
MS, Environmental Justice at the University of Michigan 2017
Graduate Certificate, Science & Technology Public Policy at the University of Michigan 2017
BA, Environmental Science & Policy Analysis, Carthage College 2014
Advisor
Advisor Specialization(s)
Sustainability and Development
Research
Ember’s dissertation employs a case study of Southwest Detroit to investigate laypersons’ non-technical ways of knowing in environmental justice (EJ) conflict and their incommensurability with environmental policymaking in the United States. It builds on studies of how citizens and policymakers work together to develop regulatory standards, and examines what happens when these collectively produced metrics don’t amplify residents’ concerns.
Publications
Hicken, M.T., Payne-Sturges, D., & McCoy, E.D. (forthcoming). Race and the association between air pollution and health: What does race mean? Environmental Health Perspectives.
Taylor, D.E., Wright, T., Ortiz, I., Surdoval, A., McCoy, E.D., & Daupan, S.M. (2022). Rising food insecurity and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency food assistance in Michigan. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.
Taylor, D. E., Farias, L. M., Kahan, L. M., Talamo, J., Surdoval, A., McCoy, E. D., & Daupan, S. M. (2022). Understanding the challenges faced by Michigan’s family farmers: race/ethnicity and the impacts of a pandemic. Agriculture and Human Values, 1-20.
Taylor, D. E., Lusuegro, A., Loong, V., Cambridge, A., Nichols, C., Goode, M., McCoy, E., Daupan, S.M., Bartlett, M., Noel, E., & Pollvogt, B. (2021). Racial, Gender, and Age Dynamics in Michigan’s Urban and Rural Farmers Markets: Reducing Food Insecurity, and the Impacts of a Pandemic. American Behavioral Scientist, 1-43.
Taylor, D. E., Paul, S., & McCoy, E. (2019). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Salience of Publicly Disclosing Demographic Data in American Environmental Nonprofits. Sustainability, 11(19), 5491.
Specialization