Biography

Monika Shankar (pronouns she/her) is a first year Environmental Health Sciences PhD student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, a recent graduate of the Luskin School’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning program and a long-time environmental justice activist and organizer. Her graduate and professional work is situated at the intersection of environmental health and justice, and urban planning, with a particular emphasis on advancing research and developing policy solutions to address the presence of stationary sources of pollution in vulnerable communities. She has served on the steering committee of ClimatePlan, the Alliance for Community Transit-LA and the Jordan Downs Environmental Justice Coalition. Monika is a Switzer Fellow, a Luskin Center for Innovation Field Fellow for Environmental Justice, a Reach the Decision Makers Fellow and a Julie Roque Fellow.