Current Grant Awardees

Leadership & Industry Professional Expeditions 

Leadership and Industry Professional Expeditions aim to develop lasting network connections between emerging women leaders at UMass Amherst and leaders in industry. The project consists of two professional expeditions to different organizations during the fall semester of 2025. Each well-structured expedition will accommodate 50 participants/students. It will be an immersive experience designed to expose students to leadership opportunities and real-world work environments. 

Demystifying the Women's Health Landscape: Actionable Data for All 

This project gathers, cleans, analyzes and visualizes 27 publicly available women's health variables to create inferences about women's health -- and health disparities -- at county, state, and national levels. The project establishes a statistically rigorous measurement model for women's health, based on available data, that can be easily understood and used by researchers, students, and the general public, across the globe.

Through a WFUM-branded web interface, users will customize queries regarding geography, demographics, and health, to analyze (and streamline) meaningful data, generate maps, export data sets, and perform cluster analyses of health factors at scale.

Artist/Fabricator Exhibition 

Artist/Fabricator is an exhibition of work by 11 artists from the northeast who utilize fabric or textiles in their sculptures. The exhibition was conceived to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Fine Arts Center in 1975, and it takes inspiration from the inaugural exhibition: Artist & Fabricator.  

This exhibition emphasizes the artist's work as a trade and craft, displaying hand-made characteristics and a rejection of industrialization. It celebrates artists of all backgrounds, featuring the artwork of six female artists, four LGBTQ artists, and one male artist, highlighting a rich tapestry of cultural perspectives, identities, and creative expressions.

Sister to Sister: A Peer-Led Advocacy & Research Initiative for Mental Health Equity

Sister to Sister is a student-led initiative under the HEART Research Initiative at UMass Amherst, titled “Body-Politics and Narrative Resistance: Stress, Grief, & the Superwoman Role in Black Women and Femmes with Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs).” The project integrates peer advocacy and research to address mental health disparities among Black and Women of Color students, faculty, and staff. Participants will develop and implement a Decision Support Tool (DST) survey that helps clinicians and patients recognize the impact of racism, systemic oppression, and bias on mental health conditions on college students.

In parallel, Sister to Sister will establish a peer-led advocacy group focused on mental health equity. The peer advocates will assist with data collection and analysis while providing support and guidance to Black and Women of Color navigating mental health care. 

Coalition of Women in German 2025 Annual Conference (50th Anniversary) + Alumni Reunion & Networking Event

The annual Women in German conference includes research presentations on intersectional feminist German studies and pedagogy, networking and mentorship, and organization toward feminist coalition in action.  

The keynote speaker for the 2025 conference is Katharina Warda, a filmmaker, author, and public scholar. Warda’s visit to UMass for the conference will be extended in connection with the UMass Sara Lennox Black German Studies Endowment speaker series and in collaboration with the DEFA Film Library.  It will include classroom visits, workshops, and a public talk on Warda’s current documentary film, “Our Sister Angela – Black Power in the GDR.”

The project will also host a reunion/celebration and networking event immediately prior to or following the conference.  

Reproductive Justice Outreach: Advancing Medication Abortion and Sexual Health Education Across the Five Colleges 

This project seeks to empower students, reduce stigma around abortion and reproductive health, and contribute to a broader movement for social justice. Through workshops, events, and advocacy efforts, the group will create a more inclusive and informed community where individuals can make empowered decisions about their reproductive health.  In addition, the group hopes to create a policy workshop that educates students on how to navigate the changing national landscape and affect local policy.