Guest Speaking at UW HOPE

“You were the moment”

On April 7th, I had the honor of presenting my research and activism for UW HOPE – Huskies for Opportunities in Prison Education, a student-led and community-rooted organization working to expand access to education during incarceration. The connection was made through a fellow steering committee member from the coalition to end solitary confinement, Survivors Opposing Solitary, proof again that the bridges we build across movement spaces matter.

The talk, titled "Investigating Social Isolation Through the Lens of Neuroethology and Social Justice," shared research I’ve been building in the Wang Lab at the University of Washington, where I conduct independent research in the Neural Systems & Behavior Department.

This research explores the neurobiological and behavioral effects of social isolation using bumblebees as a model. Guided by lived experience, it replicates conditions of solitary confinement used in Washington State to assess impacts on behavior, mortality, and gene expression responses. The findings contribute to understanding social isolation in communal species and inform legislation and policy efforts within Washington’s Department of Corrections.

It was a full-circle moment in ways I didn’t expect.

The last time I presented research to a community-based audience was in 2022, over Zoom, for the Office of the Corrections Ombuds. At the time, I was presenting findings from a final project in a scientific research writing course. I spoke about social isolation then, too, but to have them back in 2025 to witness my own research was quite meaningful.

In this talk, I was advised to share more about myself and my unique background that led me to start this journey. I talked about my path into NIH-funded research and my commitment to becoming the scientist our communities need. I want UW HOPE and other groups advocating for change to be able to point to my research as evidence for their solutions. If lived experience is the shoulders I stand on, may my science be the legs for human rights movements, whether in prison education, solitary confinement reform, housing access, or food security.

The room was packed, and they were intent. I had 50 minutes and planned to leave 10 for questions, just hoping someone might raise their hand. I presented for 40—and then answered questions for another 30 minutes through the group’s social hour.

I was in my element. It was palpable.

As I walked out, a labmate who had tuned in over Zoom sent me a message. It read, "You were the moment."

Words I’ll hold close—and a feeling I’ll keep chasing, to be in space with community, linking arms for progress.