Community Outreach Presentation

The Problem

Flourish Research was struggling with low clinical trial enrollment among Black patients and community members. Standard outreach wasn't working — and the question wasn't just how to reach people, but why they weren't engaging in the first place.

Research Questions

What are the real barriers preventing community members from participating in clinical research? What would it take to build enough trust for someone to say yes?

What I Observed

Through direct community engagement and qualitative observation, I identified three distinct and compounding barriers:

• Barrier 1 — Brand InvisibilityNobody knew who Flourish Research was. Without name recognition, there was no baseline trust to build on.
• Barrier 2 — Historical Medical MistrustBlack patients carried deep, legitimate distrust of clinical research — rooted in a documented history of exploitation and harm. This wasn't irrational fear; it was informed caution passed down through community memory.
• Barrier 3 — Placebo MisunderstandingMany participants didn't understand placebos and feared receiving no real treatment.

What I Built

Relationship before recruitment. I stopped leading with study information and started leading with conversation — meeting people where they were, listening first, and letting trust develop naturally.

Educational Leave-Behind — Black Research History

Community education materials. I developed an infographic contextualizing Black contributions to medical research — directly addressing the historical mistrust by honoring the legacy rather than dismissing it.

Community Outreach Materials — Flourish Brochures

Physical leave-behinds. I designed tangible brochures people could take home, share with family, and reference later.

Community Event — Lunch & Learn

Event-based outreach. I organized Lunch & Learn events targeting adults 55+, partnering with West Blvd Neighborhood Coalition and Care Access to demystify clinical research in a community-first, low-pressure setting.

Outcomes

Recruitment Landing Page

The Problem

Since the 2021 NCAA NIL ruling, Division I student-athletes can now profit from their name, image, and likeness for the first time. Very little qualitative research exists on how this affects athletes' identity, wellbeing, and performance — particularly at Power Four institutions navigating race, visibility, and commercial pressure simultaneously.

Research Questions

How do Division I student-athletes at Power Four institutions experience the NIL era? How does commercialization intersect with identity development, motivation, and cognitive demands? What structural and racial dynamics shape who benefits — and who doesn't?

Study Design

As PI, I designed a full-cycle qualitative study grounded in six theoretical domains — and built a complete research brand and recruitment infrastructure to support it.

Study Site — Why It Matters & Research Domains

Navigating the IRB Constraint

One of the central design challenges was building recruitment infrastructure before IRB approval. I designed a compliant waitlist system with full transparency that no research data was being gathered yet.

Participant Pipeline — Waitlist & Screener

Methodology

The study uses semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method. Data will be analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo and ATLAS.ti, with a reflexive approach accounting for positionality and power dynamics throughout.

Official Collaboration Poster — x Dakotah Aiyanna

The Problem

Sabor Latin Grill was expanding across multiple Charlotte locations but lacked a consistent visual identity that honored Latin cultural heritage while remaining authentic to the distinct neighborhoods each restaurant occupied.

Research Approach

Before picking up a brush, I treated each location as a research site — studying the surrounding neighborhood, the demographics of the dining community, the cultural symbols and visual language meaningful to Latin identity, and the physical architecture and movement patterns of each space.

Each mural concept was developed from this research, not from aesthetic preference alone. The question wasn't "what looks good?" — it was "what is true to this place and these people?"

Illustration System

Before the murals, I developed a character and illustration vocabulary — figures rooted in Latin cultural identity that could anchor each location's visual language.

Character Studies — Cultural Illustration Vocabulary

Location-Specific Murals

The same visual system, customized for each neighborhood. Shared iconography anchors brand recognition, while the location nameplate and surrounding cultural details shift with each community.

NoDa — Viva la NoDa South Park

Key Insights

Place identity is layered. Each Charlotte neighborhood had its own cultural texture. A single mural couldn't honor all three without location-specific research.

Cultural symbols carry weight. The murals became a signal to the community that the space was made for them.

Brand System

Alongside the murals, I developed a standalone brand illustration using the same visual vocabulary distilled into a compact, iconic form.

The Problem

Psychology and neuroscience students and early-career researchers face significant structural barriers to accessing research opportunities. Existing resources are fragmented, overly academic in tone, and largely disconnected from the lived experiences of students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Research Approach

I began by mapping the problem space through audience research and lived experience analysis — examining the specific needs of students, early-career researchers, and community members navigating academic research environments.

From this research foundation, I developed the platform's mission, values, and scope — ensuring every structural and content decision was grounded in observed audience need rather than assumption.

Key Insights

Access is not just informational — it's relational. Students weren't just missing information; they were missing mentorship, community, and models that looked like them.

Tone creates trust. Academic register actively excludes the audience this platform was trying to serve.