Balazs receives achievement award for diversity and community
The 2014 Chancellor’s Achievement Awards for Diversity and Community have been presented in the categories of Academic Senate and Academic Federation, staff, undergraduate and graduate student, community member — and in a new category, post-doctoral scholar.
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Post-Doc: Carolina Balazs, a UC Presidential Post-Doctoral Scholar (2013-14), works in the field of environmental justice, in particular clean drinking water in California. She has been a strong advocate for low-income Latino communities in the Central Valley where some of the state’s most egregious water violations are found.
She did her graduate work with the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. She received a Master of Science degree in water resources management in 2006 and a Ph.D. in environmental health and water resources management in 2012. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science from Brown University in 2001.
She looks at health impacts, regional planning, and water system capacity and sustainability, as well as the disproportionate burden of poor drinking water quality. Her published articles on nitrate contamination of drinking water in the San Joaquin Valley have been widely circulated.
Balazs, described as a model of engaged scholarship and policy impact, has worked for and in partnership with the Community Water Center, an independent, nonprofit organization based in Visalia (Tulare County) with an office in Sacramento.
With her research and engagement, she has made important contributions to solving crucial environmental justice issues, and advancing knowledge about the social, economic, political and technical variables that influence environmental justice outcomes.
