Meet EPA Researcher Kaytee Canfield, Ph.D.
Dr. Kaytee Canfield works on stakeholder engagement and science communication research. Some of her work includes looking at how researchers and stakeholders perceive EPA’s approach to solutions-driven research; how to learn from climate change communication to inform better communication about nutrient pollution; and perceptions of the use and cultural impacts of harmful algal blooms on waterbodies.
What research are you working on right now?
As a postdoc, I have a few projects all in their infancy, and I am trying my hand at a lot of science communication across multiple projects. My main social science research project is working on understanding the researcher and stakeholder experience of participating in a solutions-driven research project that is tackling excess nutrient concerns in the waters on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Solutions-driven research involves extensive stakeholder engagement throughout the project, from identifying the scientific priorities of the research to implementing the project and evaluating the outcomes. As a social scientist, I look at what lessons we can learn from the pilot, and what is working well in trying a new approach to research. I am also working alongside many other EPA employees to begin environmental justice research on community priorities in Chelsea, MA, and in Providence, RI.
Tell us about your background.
I have a B.S. and M.A. in environmental studies from the University of Southern California. I have a PhD in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island, where my dissertation research was about the environmental and social justice of tourism development on Catalina Island, California. I also worked closely on research on public memory of Black and indigenous identities on Block Island, Rhode Island. These are all interdisciplinary environmental degrees where I focused on qualitative social science. During my time at University of Rhode Island, I found my way into the field of science communication, working as a researcher with the Metcalf Institute of Marine and Environmental Reporting to build a paper and report on the inclusive science communication movement.
When did you first know you wanted to be a scientist?
I first knew I wanted to be a scientist as a sixth grader. The materials engineers from the local university came to give a demonstration of the different properties of metal alloys they had developed, and since then, I planned to use science for environmental sustainability. I originally planned to be a chemical engineer and help design more sustainable materials, but upon getting to college, I realized that I was much more passionate about the human dimensions of environmental sustainability, specifically environmental justice.
What do you like most about your research?
I like getting to do work that helps make EPA science a bit more inclusive and accessible, and that is specifically focused on helping tackle problems that communities identify.
How does your work at EPA help address environmental justice concerns?
Within my division, Kate Mulvaney, Michaela Cashman, and myself have been working to build conversation among our colleagues about how we can further center environmental justice in our work. From our perspectives, this starts with understanding the field, which also means understanding our own identities, both personally and as EPA scientists. We have led a number of lunch and learn conversations to build local actionable practice related to environmental justice. Working with EPA Region 1’s Marcus Holmes and his environmental justice team, we are a part of a working group focused on building a more just port area in Providence, RI, and are also brainstorming how we can build research that addresses the concerns of residents both in Providence and Chelsea related to cumulative environmental impacts. I am also on a team in early stages of a project to understand the human dimensions of increased harmful algal bloom events on Tribal communities. Finally, I recently did a dive into the research conducted within EPA’s Office of Research and Development across the past 10 years that was tagged as related to environmental justice using Science Inventory. This helped understand what amount of our current work has meaningfully engaged with concepts of environmental justice, racism, and intersectional environmental burdens, and I hope will be helpful in finding ways to expand efforts to meaningfully tackle environmental justice issues in future EPA work.
What role does science and research have in helping to address environmental justice concerns?
Research and science with a goal of equitable and just environmental experience is essential to tackle environmental injustices. Addressing environmental injustices requires the collaboration of and coordination across multiple agencies, diverse expertise, and community partnerships, all with unique skillsets, roles, and insights to contribute to tackle the great breadth of environmental injustices. We need biophysical scientists’ expertise in understanding toxicity, pollutant levels, sources and risks of exposure, and potential health impacts, for some. Social scientists are key in understanding the socioeconomic and cultural impacts of environmental injustices on communities, and in understanding community concerns related to the various burdens experienced. A holistic approach to research will prioritize community members lived experiences and local knowledge to better inform research questions, investigations, and interpretation of findings. Complementing this lived experience with scientific expertise means fully understanding the scope of injustices and the priorities in tackling these challenges.
Why is it important for researchers to get involved in addressing environmental justice issues?
At EPA, our mission is to protect human health and the environment. This is essentially a call for environmental justice, as we cannot have healthy humans or an environment without prioritizing the rights of our most overburdened communities to healthy environments in which to live, work, play, and worship. Not all researchers’ expertise necessitates being directly engaged in community-based research, but we all have expertise to contribute to tackling these challenges from monitoring environmental health, to interpreting scientific results in a way that addresses community needs, to building tools for communities to use in assessing the safety of interacting with the environment in different ways, to actually working directly with communities in defining research priorities. In my opinion, it is essential that anyone interested in beginning to work on research with an environmental justice lens first reflects on their motivations and the history of the field and of exploitation of overburdened communities and people with marginalized identities in science, and understand that this applied research is very different in approach, outputs, and priorities than basic environmental research.
How does your science matter?
I don’t like to think of “my science,” but the science I work on with various teams matters in making sure that we are tackling problems that are priorities to the people in the communities in which we are conducting research. This work matters in improving the usefulness of EPA research, and in working to build our engagement and research approaches to be more inclusive. I hope to make my research matter in improving the lives of communities that have been historically overlooked and exploited by science.
If you weren’t a scientist, what would you be doing?
I really enjoy science communication practice, so perhaps I would be in more of a communications role, helping to produce infographics, social media, and other forms of communication about science. I also am passionate about teaching, from climate change, to social justice, to yoga, so perhaps in another version of my life I would be doing something where I could teach across that whole spectrum.
What advice would you give a student interested in a career in science?
Find a mentor (or three), whose values and priorities you trust. Finding a network of friends, coworkers, and supportive faculty that embrace all of your identities is essential to maintaining faith in yourself when tasks get overwhelming. And trust that you can and already are making a difference in the world.
If you could have dinner with any scientist, past or present, who would you choose and what would you talk about?
I would love to meet Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist and climate justice advocate. I would most likely be too starstruck to say much, but would want to talk about climate justice, and how to stay hopeful and tackle the intersectional challenges of environmental justice. I would also love to hear more about her career pathway to who she is today.
What do you think is our biggest scientific challenge in the next 20/50/100 years?
The climate crisis.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the researcher alone. EPA does not endorse the opinions or positions expressed.