Portfolio
Micaela E. Romero
A neurobiology researcher, strategic communications consultant, and community leader working at the intersection of science, public engagement, and social change. My work combines research, storytelling, and community-centered strategy to strengthen organizations, inform policy, and build meaningful connections between people and the systems that serve them.
Public Speaking & Panels
From community conversations to academic presentations, I knit real connections between the work and the people it impacts and those who weigh in on it. I help audiences better understand complex issues and create pathways for meaningful engagement.
I am available for guest speaking, panels, conferences, workshops, presentations, moderated conversations, MC’ing events and moderating panels.
-
Panelist discussing the human and systemic costs of incarceration, drawing on lived experience as a loved one of an incarcerated person and research on the impacts of the carceral system.
-
Interview with Trimmel Gomes for Public News Service, April 2025.
Listen to the full interview here.I discuss how solitary confinement impacts neural and behavioral health, and the urgent need for reform in Florida’s criminal justice system.
-
Interview with Trimmel Gomes for Public News Service, April 2025.
Listen to the full interview here.I share findings on the neurological harms of solitary confinement, with a focus on how isolation policies devastate incarcerated populations in Mississippi.
Research & Publications
Exploring the intersection of neuroscience, behavior, and community impact through research, scientific communication, and evidence-informed approaches.
-
Poster presentation on the findings of the behavioral effects of social isolation and subsequent reintegration in bumblebees, mapping changes in social interactions and locomotion across the recovery period.
Spanish-language research presentation · UW Department of Biology (May 20th, 2026) -
Contributed scientific research and expertise through a multi-year coalition with the authors, informing the book’s examination of solitary confinement and providing final quotes included in the published work.
-
Poster Session at RISE Institute, March 2025.
This research investigated the role of the daf-16 gene in C. elegans development, linking genetic regulation to survival outcomes during embryogenesis.
-
Poster Session at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, October 2024.
My poster presentation detailed the use of bumblebees as a novel model for examining the neurobiological and behavioral effects of social isolation across species.
-
Research Presentation and Poster Session at the UW Center for Neurotechnology, August 2024.
I presented findings showing that bumblebees display measurable behavioral changes following periods of social isolation, offering a new model for studying social neurobiology.
Quoted
A collection of media conversations where I’ve brought community perspective, research, and advocacy to the issues affecting policy and people’s livelihood.
-
Quoted as a community advocate and researcher supporting the effort to secure Zahid Chaudhry’s release from ICE custody and reunite him with his family.
-
Quoted as a community advocate and researcher advocating for Zahid Chaudhry’s release and bringing community-centered, research-informed perspective to the fight against his continued detention.
-
Quoted in response to DHS claims about Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, advocating for his release and challenging narratives that dehumanize immigrants and separate families from their communities.
-
Quoted as a WashingtonCAN digital organizer and communications advocate calling for Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry’s release and citizenship, bringing community-centered advocacy to the fight against his detention.
-
Quoted in a review of Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement, contributing perspective on the human impacts and conditions of solitary confinement.
-
Interview with C. Blackwell featured in The Appeal, April 2025.
Read the full article here.An in-depth article highlighting my research into how prolonged solitary confinement damages the brain and why this issue matters for human rights advocacy.
-
Quoted as an organizer advocating for delivery workers and urging policymakers to center workers and consumers in gig-worker legislation.
-
Featured as a community advocate speaking against legislation that would reduce delivery-worker pay and bringing worker-centered advocacy to the Seattle City Council debate.