Kaitlyn Johnke

Kaitlyn Johnke is in the Public Health and Latin American Studies Dual Masters Degree Program. She is originally from Oakland, California and got her bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Geography from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her research focuses on environmental justice and access to quality water, around the Lake Atitlan watershed in Guatemala. In her research project, through participant observation and interviews, she examined the role that environmental education, monitoring, and data collection initiatives have on the indigenous communities' access to quality water. Access to quality water is connected to food sovereignty due to the importance of clean water for gastrointestinal health and well being of the indigenous communities around Lake Atitlan. The CRFS Research Award helped her to cover the costs of reimbursement of over 30 community members for participating in interviews and contributed towards the costs associated with living with a host family.