Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Department of History, Philosophy + Social Science, Rhode Island School of Design. Providence, RI. August 2019 – present.
Research Fellow, Silent Spring Institute and Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute. Boston, MA. 2018 – 2019.
EDUCATION
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Ph.D., Sociology, 2018
Dissertation Title: Unseen Science: The Social Re-Discovery of Per- and Polyfluorinated Compounds
Washington State University
M.A., Sociology, 2008. Thesis: Patterns of Hazardous Waste in the United States: Analyzing Rural Environmental Justice with Spatial Data
Connecticut College
B.A., Sociology, with Distinction, 2005
Certificate in Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies
NONACADEMIC PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2009 – 2013. Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, Development Director. Oakland, CA.
Lauren Richter. 2018. Constructing Insignificance? Applying Critical Race Theory to Institutional Failure in Environmental Justice Communities. Environmental Sociology. 4(1): 107-121.
Leif Fredrickson, Chris Sellers, Lindsey Dillion, Jennifer Ohayon, Nick Shapiro, Marianne Sullivan, Stephen Bocking, Phil Brown, Vanessa De La Rosa, Jill Harrison, Sara Johns, Katherine Kulik, Rebecca Lave, Michelle Murphy, Liza Piper, Lauren Richter, and Sara Wylie. 2018. Paving the Way for Trump: Past Presidential Assaults on Environmental Protection. American Journal of Public Health. 108(S2): S95-S103.
Cordner, Alissa, Lauren Richter, Phil Brown. 2016. Can Chemical-class Approaches Replace Chemical-by-Chemical Strategies? Lessons from Recent FDA Regulatory Action on Perfluorinated Compounds. Environmental Science & Technology. 50(23): 12584-12591.
Rosa, Eugene A. and Lauren Richter. 2008. Durkheim on the Environment: Ex Libris or Ex Cathedra: Introduction to Inaugural Lecture to a Course in Social Science, by Emile Durkheim 1887-1888. Organization & Environment. 21(2): 182-188.
Under Review:
Lauren Richter, Alissa Cordner, and Phil Brown. Producing Ignorance Through Environmental Regulatory Structure: The Case of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
Articles in Preparation:
Lauren Richter, Alissa Cordner, and Phil Brown. Strategic Science Production and the Obviation of Regulation of Highly Fluorinated Chemicals.
Lauren Richter. Critical Race Theory and Environmental Sociology. Invited book chapter in The Racial Structure of Sociological Thought, Edited by Jennifer Mueller and Victor Ray.
Lauren Richter. Corporate Viability and Preemptive Problem Resolution: PFAS as a Non-Problem.
Lauren Richter. Re-Centering the Right: Deploying Whiteness Post-1960.
Jennie Ohayon, Alissa Cordner, Phil Brown, Andrea Amico, and Lauren Richter. Persistent Chemicals, Persistent Activism: How Scientific Opportunity Structures Shape Social Movement Organizing Around PFAS Contamination.
NON-REFEREED ARTICLES
Elisabeth Wilder, Lauren Richter, Michael Mascarenhas, Raoul S. Lievanos, and Jennifer Carrera. 2019. Confronting White Space and White Ignorance: A Summary of the Committee on Racial Equity’s Mission and Work (2016-2019). American Sociological Association, Section on Environment and Technology, Fall Newsletter.
Christopher Sellers, Lindsey Dillon, Jennifer Liss Ohayon, Nick Shapiro, Marianne Sullivan, Chris Amoss, Stephen Bocking, Phil Brown, Vanessa De La Rosa, Jill Harrison, Sara Johns, Katherine Kulik, Rebecca Lave, Michelle Murphy, Liza Piper, Lauren Richter, Sara Wylie. 2017. The EPA Under Siege. Environmental Data & Governance Initiative.
Mascarenhas, Michael, Lauren Richter, Elisabeth Wilder, Jennifer Carrera. 2017. Diversity in Sociology and Environmental Sociology: What We Know About Our Discipline. American Sociological Association, Section on Environment and Technology. Spring Newsletter.
Rosa, Eugene A. and Lauren Richter. 2007. Review of Organizational Encounters with Risk (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Edited by Bridget Hutter and Michael Power. American Journal of Sociology. 113(3): 886-888.
GRANTS
Leadership Grant, Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation, 2018, $22,000.
National Science Foundation Conference Award for “Bridging the Gap: Race and Environment Conference,” American Sociological Association Pre-Conference, 2018, $19,000.
National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award, 2017, $7,500
Summer Research Grant, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Northeastern University, 2014 $500, 2015 $500, and 2017 $2,000
New World Foundation Grant, “Crowdsourcing Disaster Response in Colorado” with Sara Wylie and Public Lab, 2014, $25,000
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
Kendall Fellowship, Union of Concerned Scientists, 2019 (declined).
Robert & Patricia Switzer Environmental Fellow, 2017 – 2018, $15,000
Department of Sociology & Anthropology “Outstanding Public and Applied Research Award,” Northeastern University, 2015
Travel Award, First Annual Citizen Science Association Conference, 2015, $300
Young Nonprofit Professional Network Career Development Committee “Volunteer of the Year,” Bay Area Chapter, 2010
Thomas S. Foley Institute Graduate Fellowship, Foley Institute, WSU, 2008, $2,000
Boeing Graduate Fellowship in Environmental Studies, College of Liberal Arts, WSU, 2008, $2,000
Fred R. Yoder Memorial Graduate Fellowship, Department of Sociology, WSU, 2007, $2,000
American Sociological Association Student Honors Program, 2005
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Environmental Justice
Social Movements and Backlash
University of San Francisco, Instructor, San Francisco, CA
Environmental Justice, Fall 2009
Environmental Justice, Fall 2011 (co-taught with Alégria De La Cruz).
OTHER TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Learning to Listen: Facilitating Conversations on Racism. Workshop Organizer and Facilitator. College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME. 2018.
StirFry Seminars & Consulting, Certificate in Mindful Facilitation, Berkeley, CA. 2016 – 2018.
Nova Group. English Language Instructor. Iwaki, Japan. 2005 – 2006.
