Research Project or Thesis: Organizing for Power: The Flow of Social Power in Community-Level Changes and Rural Community Organizing in Northern California

Advisor: Dr. Michihiro Sugata

Evan has excelled in every aspect of his graduate studies. He has proved to be a diligent student, a peer mentor, a departmental asset, and an impassioned community member. Evan has played an instrumental role in mentoring and tutoring our students as an ISA writing tutor for the most difficult theory and methods courses, becoming the in-house expert for students in our statistics lab, and research methods courses. He currently works as a research assistant (RA) for Dr. Josh Meisel on a pilot study focused on the use of oral cannabis products for the treatment of chronic pain and difficulty sleeping. In 2021, he worked as a Research Assistant for Dr. Michihiro Sugata, collecting data to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the case backlog in the criminal-legal system across the state. Evan spearheaded this project by doing preliminary research, drafting legal documents, creating a database of state agencies, and supervising undergraduate research assistants.  Evan is astutely aware of the balance of who is speaking and will make room for others before sharing his own thoughts. This is an attribute that is often missed by gifted students, yet it comes so naturally for Evan. In this way he has the ability to impact the learning of all those around him, and it is this process of collective learning that he finds so valuable and enjoyable. Evan has also served as a full-time community organizer for True North Organizing Network in Eureka. He is an exemplary example of someone who does not draw a distinction between learning in the classroom and learning in the community. He brings his community organizing skills with him into academic spaces and he carries his educational insights with him into the broader community. In these ways, Evan is practicing Public Sociology in the purest sense.