About
Prof. Kritz’s research frequently engages with environmental change that impacts human health. Her current research collaborations in this area include:
participatory action research with informal sector workers and communities (e-waste and scrap workers, fisherfolk) to develop a strategy grounded in research, trust-building and collaboration across-sectors to mitigate harmful practices at the intersection of the environment and human health
GOGREEN, a global study on indicators for co-creating the green transition, with a particular focus on culture and planning culture .
intervention design with a focus on the COVID-19 response of a rural, Appalachian county in North Carolina.
Prof. Kritz co-designed and serves as the founding Faculty Director for the MS Program program for Climate, Environment & Health. Her participatory action research, modeling complex public problem-solving, and more than a decade teaching the theory and skill of collaborative governance intervention design, are the framework for the program. Core principles of this work include:
Skill and experience to hold and work through opposing tensions and complexity
Lateral problem solving across complex, seemingly disparate situations
Shifting from binary to integrative solutions
The program is the first of its kind to educate students as change agents to lead the resolution of complex public problems stemming from environmental change and impacting human health.
What Makes This Program Distinct
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The program combines environmental and health science with evidence-based process design so graduates can not only diagnose problems, but lead real-world interventions
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Students learn to draw methods from public health, economics, policy, systems design, and science to address cross-sector challenges.
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Emphasis is placed on co-designing with communities and centering solutions that serve frontline and vulnerable populations.
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In an intensive 10-month schedule, students gain hands-on experience and real projects to make an immediate impact.
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A hallmark of the program is training students to convene stakeholders across sectors to design inclusive, multifaceted solutions.
