The 2024 National Equity Atlas Fellowship Showcase celebrates the visionary data projects of the second cohort of fellows.

In these recorded presentations, each fellow shares their journey in sharpening their data skills and leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data to strengthen policy and advocacy initiatives within their communities. They also highlight innovative strategies and actionable solutions to address pressing issues like housing affordability, transit deserts, the digital divide, wage theft, economic instability, climate change, and environmental hazards. Their individual and collective work illustrates the power of data and research justice in shaping and sustaining equitable communities.

Learn more about the National Equity Atlas Fellows and their projects:
• Session 1: Shirani Jayasuriya | Asia Duffie | Teela Gajewski | Shari Williams
• Session 2: Feliciano Ocegueda | Lina Blanco | Dalila Solis | Lloyd Feng

Shirani Jayasuriya (she/her) is a community organizer and communications manager at Ride New Orleans, an advocacy organization dedicated to transit equity and centering the needs and experiences of transit riders. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, she developed an open data portal and dashboard focused on transit and ridership data in the region.

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Asia Duffie (she/her) serves as a lead faith organizer at Fair Count, a Georgia-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering historically undercounted rural communities of color. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, she developed an interactive dashboard that highlights crucial data insights into the digital divide prevalent in rural communities throughout Georgia, accompanied by compelling narratives advocating for policy reforms and investments to enhance internet access and digital equity.

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Teela Gajewski (she/her) is a data coordinator at Action St. Louis, a nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to building political power for Black communities in St. Louis, Missouri. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, she developed an interactive dashboard that sheds light on the experiences of renters in St. Louis, providing valuable insights into housing challenges, living conditions, and eviction filings in the region.

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Shari Williams (she/her) is the director of equitable neighborhood planning at Detroit Future City, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Detroiters. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, she designed an infographic highlighting the economic disparities caused by heir properties in Detroit. She also developed a social media toolkit that partners could leverage to underscore why reforming the heir property system is a crucial strategy for building economic wealth and stabilizing neighborhoods in Detroit.

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Feliciano Ocegueda (he/him) is a water justice research analyst at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO). As part of LVEJO’s water justice program, he works to educate and inform community members about equitable water access and infrastructure in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, Feliciano developed an interactive data tool to support advocacy efforts aimed at removing lead service lines and protecting residents from unsafe drinking water.

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Lina Blanco (she/they/ella) is the communications and cultural strategist for the North Bay Organizing Project. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, she created an interactive digital story and a printable fact sheet for housing justice partners and elected officials. The resources highlight disparities in housing affordability and displacement in Sonoma County due to recent climate disasters. It also underscores the importance of adopting tenant protection policies before climate disasters and other emergencies to mitigate displacement and promote a just recovery.

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Dalila Solis (she/her/ella) is a former community organizer for the Center of Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa, where she focused on resolving wage theft and discrimination cases. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, she designed an infographic to help workers understand wage theft, recognize its impact, and access resources to recover stolen wages.

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Lloyd Feng (he/him) leads the Invisible No More Campaign at the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF). Through this campaign, he advocates for disaggregated race and ethnicity data for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities in New York. For the National Equity Atlas Fellowship project, he developed an interactive dashboard for elected officials, highlighting the unique needs and characteristics of disaggregated groups within Asian American communities in New York City.

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