Research Assistant - ES - A. Abrash Walton [Work Study]

Applicants must be enrolled students at Antioch University living in the United States. This position is open to applicants who have been accepted and matriculated into the Antioch University Environmental Studies MS program for Fall 2026 enrollment. Preference will be given to applicants who reside in NH, RI, or KY.

This is a remote work position with 90% of time eligible for remote work. Travel to project sites (Louisville, KY; Manchester, NH; Providence, RI) is required for Community Resilience Workshops.

About the Project

The four-year ENACTS project builds capacity through new research infrastructure to identify novel methods to center equity in the design and application of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for resilience. The research, supported by local knowledge, coupled with integrated social and natural sciences, engineering, art, and design, is creating an ecosystem of academia, government, and community organizations to support more informed and equitable NbS decisions. Support for the ENACTS Project is provided by the National Science Foundation's Office of Integrative Activities.

Our scope of work focuses on:

• Investigation of process-based equity related to existing and planned NbS projects, as well as how process-related equity may influence the actual NbS design and implementation;
• Interventions designed to facilitate socially equitable NbS implementation.

Our research involves behavioral analysis and includes, principally, Community Resilience Workshops and associated survey and other research methods, as well as Negotiation Workshops. We work in coordination and collaboration with the ENACTS project team, which includes researchers from the Rhode Island School of Design, University of Louisville, University of New Hampshire, and University of Rhode Island.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate in implementing half-day Community Resilience workshops in each of the three Living Hubs, including participant recruitment and day-of delivery (8 hours/week);
• Collaborate in workshop survey instrument administration and analysis characterizing process-based equity and its influence on NbS decision-making (2 hours/week);
• Collaborate on preparing manuscripts for peer review, based on semi-structured interviews, CRW1 activities, findings, and digitization of assets (2 hours/week);
• Mobilize and manage project stakeholder engagement, including identifying and engaging Living Hub community participants/NbS decision makers (5 hours/week);
• Collaborate in developing presentations and reports on the team’s work for the ENACTS team and others (1 hour/week);
• Develop and share with AUNE Comms team narrative description and photo image documenting project activities relevant for social media (0.5 hours/week);
• Participate in weekly Antioch team meetings and periodic ENACTS team meetings from August 17, 2026 to December 7, 2026 (1.5 hours/week).

Qualifications

• Ability to work with others and communicate effectively, including with respect to presentations and report writing, is essential;
• Ability to travel for project workshops is required;
• Prior research and experience with effective community organizing, particularly with respect to centering equity, nature-based solutions, and community resilience and climate preparedness issues is strongly preferred;
• Prior qualitative and quantitative research experience is strongly preferred, including psychosocial survey development, administration, and analysis; effective data management, and record of publication.

Schedule

• Start Date: August 17, 2026
• End Date: December 11, 2026
• Hours per Week: 20 hours
• Weekends Required: No
• Evenings Required: No