2025 Gambrell Faculty Fellows to Study Charlotte Region’s Pressing Challenges
by Asha Ellison
Ever wonder what resources could improve the persistent health disparities faced by Black families in Mecklenburg County? Curious about the ways architectural design could transform urban farming and food access? If public funds are spent equitably on Charlotte’s capital improvement projects? Have you ever considered the impact school counselors can have in shaping cultural awareness through social justice, or the role Latino fathers play in their families?
These questions provide a glimpse into the topics the sixth cohort of Gambrell Faculty Fellows will study this year with support from The Gambrell Foundation and the Charlotte Urban Institute. Over the next nine to twelve months, six UNC Charlotte scholars, Alicia Dahl, Ph.D., Chau Le, Ph.D., Stephanie Potochnick, Ph.D., Roger Suclupe, MSW, and Kyle Spence, M.S., will study critical quality of life issues and economic challenges facing the Charlotte region.
“The research this group will do is vital to the economic health and overall well-being of our community,” said Lori Thomas, Ph.D., executive director of the Charlotte Urban Institute and Charlotte Regional Data Trust. “Once they harness the power of the data from their studies, the resulting insights and recommendations could improve quality of life outcomes for our neighbors.”
The Gambrell Faculty Fellows program was established in 2018 as a result of the Charlotte Opportunity Insights Partnership. The program provides competitive grants up to $18,000 for short-term, faculty-facilitated research projects related to economic mobility. This year’s cohort will join–-or return to-–a prestigious lineage of more than 44 community-engaged scholars committed to better understanding some of the region’s pain points and making recommendations for solutions guided by their research. Fellows represent seven colleges and 23 academic disciplines.
In addition to conducting and publishing research, Gambrell Faculty Fellows participate in conversations about the role of housing, transportation, racial discrimination and more on economic mobility in Charlotte. Through this program, Fellows also learn to translate and disseminate research findings to relevant audiences, including the communities they study. Both the professional development and intentional discussions serve as a forum to engage the community and highlight fellows’ work.
“We are grateful to The Gambrell Foundation for its continued investment in community-engaged research,” said Thomas. “This funding affords our academic scholars a real chance to move our region forward in important and beneficial ways.”
Improving Perinatal Care for Black Families
Dr. Alicia Dahl has long been a champion of healthy communities. These days, her primary focus is on maternal and child health.
An associate professor in the UNC Charlotte Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Dahl is also the director of the Public Health and Health Systems Honors Program where she co-leads the Charlotte Maternal and Child Health Workgroup, which brings people together to learn and share experiences about maternal and child health.
Dahl credits her career as a public health researcher to two notable moments in her life: taking a transformative course on infectious disease and society, and the guidance of a trusted mentor who helped her realize her passion for illness prevention on a larger scale.
Dahl’s Gambrell research expands the efforts of Atrium Health doctors Yhenneko Taylor and Pamela Cobb who established the Mecklenburg Birthing Connections (MBC) website in 2024. The tool, an online resource hub developed to improve perinatal care access for Black families in Charlotte, was a result of their Perinatal Access to Care Campaign (PACC).
“I was part of the core team that guided the development of the website,” said Dahl.
The content on the website covers topics from family planning to pregnancy loss, delivery, and postpartum matters. Dahl will resume the PACC and focus her research on amplifying knowledge of perinatal resources and improving perinatal care access for Black families – the largest group facing maternal health disparities in Charlotte – by disseminating the MBC website.
“This project aims to collect community and provider feedback on the website’s awareness, identify effective communication strategies, and develop a social marketing campaign to increase its utilization,” said Dahl.
By involving the community in the development of marketing materials through a Design Sprint format, Dahl hopes to create a community-driven solution that effectively addresses the unique needs and preferences of Black families in the region.
“This research is important to the Charlotte region because the Mecklenburg Birthing Connections resource hub provides a possible solution to fill a vital service gap for those living in [the area] during the perinatal period,” said Dahl. “Access to prenatal and postpartum care and resources are necessary for ensuring families’ health and well-being….If successful, this can serve as a model for other local community-driven initiatives or cities experiencing perinatal care access gaps similar to Charlotte.”
Tackling equitable infrastructure
Dr. Chau Le knows what it’s like to be stuck in Charlotte traffic – and he wants to do something about the city’s infrastructure planning.
An assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Construction Management, Le brings a unique blend of academic rigor and real-world experience to his research. With previous experience in the construction industry, Le understands the complexities of infrastructure projects and the importance of efficient and equitable resource allocation.
“When I moved to Charlotte, I noticed a lot of disparities based on the neighborhood,” said Le. He recalls car commutes that ranged anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. He also noticed pricier homes with better schools and amenities in South Charlotte. After moving to the Charlotte suburb of Harrisburg, Le noticed improvements in his commute which led him to further ponder disparities in the region’s public services. This fueled his interest in exploring issues of equity and access. Le wondered how local governments prioritize capital improvement projects – and if they do so equitably.
Le’s Gambrell research will focus on examining how public funding for infrastructure improvement projects is distributed and whether these allocations equally serve all neighborhoods. He will use data analysis and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to investigate the relationship between funding decisions, socioeconomic factors, and community outcomes. Recognizing the limitations of solely relying on data, Le also plans to engage the community, collaborate with policymakers and Charlotte residents to understand their perspectives, as well as ensure the findings of this research translate into meaningful and equitable solutions the community can use.
Dr. Le’s research approach is unique in its emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement. By combining data analysis with community input, he aims to develop a more nuanced understanding of the factors that contribute to inequities in infrastructure development.
Le believes this research has the potential to inform a more equitable and just allocation of public resources, ultimately improving the quality of life for all residents of the Charlotte region.
The role of The Latino father
The Hispanic/Latino population in Charlotte has grown tremendously over the last decade and Roger Suclupe, MSW, clinical assistant professor, and Stephanie Potochnick, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and public policy, both of the UNC Charlotte School of Social Work, seek to understand the complex role of Latino fathers in their families.
Together, their Gambrell Faculty Fellows research project is an extension of a previous research project, “Missed Opportunities: Promoting Latino Early Care and Education Access in Mecklenburg, NC.”
“This second project is really a springboard off of the first Gambrell project I got to work with Stephanie on, but also of all of the work she has done in the Latino community,” said Suclupe, also the undergraduate director for Charlotte’s Bachelor in Social Work program. “There’s not a lot of research that exists on Latino fathers as it relates to them in the workforce and their place in families.”
Suclupe believes, through their research, Latino fathers will have a chance to be seen and heard in contrast to the “machismo” stereotype and other social constructs that don’t often depict Latino men in a positive light. And both identify a need for more research on the compassion and connection Latino fathers have with their families.
“It’s worth investigating the reasons they work so hard, work long hours, and the reasons they aren’t as present with their families as they might like to be,” said Suclupe.
“A lot of our research prior to this was centered on the role of Latina mothers, but the focus on Latino fathers is the piece [of the puzzle] that’s really missing,” added Potochnick, whose research primarily focuses on immigrant children, families, and how public policies impact their quality of life.
With assistance from undergraduate students, many of whom are native Spanish-speakers, the duo’s Gambrell research will examine how the employment and childcare challenges and opportunities of Latino fathers shape their family relationships, mental health, and quality of life. As Charlotte’s Latino population continues to grow, Potochnick and Suclupe hope that their research findings help to create culturally-responsive resources that can help Latino fathers to be more involved in their children’s lives and to improve their mental health.
School counseling and social justice
Coming from a family of educators, there was no doubt that Dr. Clare Merlin-Knoblich, associate professor in the Department of Counseling, director of the Master’s in Counseling Program, and director of the Post-Master’s Certificate in School Counseling at UNC Charlotte, would become an educator herself.
After working as a high school counselor in Georgia, where she witnessed firsthand the disparities and inequities faced by marginalized students, Merlin-Knoblich made the decision to dedicate her career–and her research–to advancing social justice within the field of school counseling.
Her personal experiences as a school counselor sparked within her a passion to help other school counselors become successful advocates for marginalized students. She would later muster up the courage to develop her own curriculum to equip school counselors with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to address social justice issues proactively.
“My vision is to create a critical mass of school counselors who are really well-trained in social justice work ,” said Merlin-Knoblich who hopes equity-based interventions and programming around multicultural awareness eventually become the norm in schools.
Dr. Merlin-Knoblich’s Gambrell Faculty Fellow research aims to expand and enhance her existing School Counseling Equity Fellowship. This program brings together practicing school counselors in a cohort-based model, providing them with training, support, and a community of like-minded peers. Through workshops, action projects, and mentorship opportunities, the fellowship encourages counselors to implement equity-based interventions in their schools and address issues of race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other forms of marginalization.
“I’m excited about the Gambrell funding because it will allow me to host two cohorts simultaneously,” said Merlin-Knoblich. “I’m hoping to run one cohort during the day and the other after school to make participation more accessible.”
Merlin-Knoblich believes this research is relevant to the Charlotte region given its diverse population and the challenges associated with creating equitable learning environments for all students.
By empowering school counselors to become agents of social change, Dr. Merlin-Knoblich’s work has the potential to significantly impact the lives of students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District. Her research findings will not only inform the development and refinement of the School Counseling Equity Fellowship but also contribute to a broader understanding of how school counselors can effectively promote social justice and create more equitable educational experiences for all students.
Fighting food insecurity with architecture & urban farming
Kyle Spence, M.S., assistant professor of Architecture at UNC Charlotte, brings a unique perspective to his Gambrell Faculty Fellows research project. His extensive applied professional experience runs the gamut and spans from renowned architectural firms like Grimshaw Architects to community-engaged projects in Harlem, New York. Spence’s work seamlessly blends design, social justice, and community development.
Spence’s Gambrell research will focus on developing a collaborative model that integrates architectural design principles with the practical needs of local farmers. Partnering with Deep Roots CPS Farm, a prominent Black-owned farm in northwest Charlotte that is on the brink of expansion, he will guide his students in developing innovative, sustainable, and culturally relevant agricultural infrastructure. This project directly addresses critical issues of food insecurity, economic mobility, and community development within the region.
During his time as a visiting professor at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a historically Black university, Spence saw the vision of how architectural design and agriculture could advance narratives for Black farmers.
“Booker T. Washington suggested the A-and-Ts and A-and-Ms would be built around the purpose of advancing an agenda on agriculture, and I was in a physical location on campus where I had the chance to talk to agricultural academics about some of the ways hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics could all be parts of larger systems I could create through my design prototypes,” said Spence. “Ultimately, I knew that the best way for me to test my ideas would be to discuss them with actual practitioners.”
Spence’s approach emphasizes participatory action design, involving community stakeholders in the design process. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI) tools and digital fabrication techniques, Spence aims to create a dynamic and responsive framework for agricultural development. This research not only provides valuable insights for Deep Roots CPS Farm, but also serves as a model for other community-engaged projects, and demonstrates how architecture can play a vital role in addressing social and environmental challenges.
Additionally, Spence’s research aligns with the broader goals of the Charlotte region. By supporting local food systems, fostering economic opportunities for Black farmers, and addressing food deserts, this project contributes to a more equitable and sustainable future for the community. Through this collaborative endeavor, Spence aims to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact, creating a lasting legacy of social and environmental change where it matters most.
“Due to industrialization, we’ve lost the balance between those living in the countryside and those living in urban centers,” said Spence. “More people moving to cities tells us there’s a need for new models of farming — and urban farming has become a way for me to bring everything together.”