Our Student Team
Kathryn (Kate) Taylor is a graduating Social Work major and has been responsible for the community assessment for our project. She has worked to establish the hierarchy of needs for the refugee community in order to integrate our project the best way possible and has led the writing of our surveys and IRB proposals and amendments. Kate has experience working at NGOs abroad in both Kenya and India and she has worked with a variety of populations including persons experiencing homelessness as well as women transitioning out of detention centers. Outside of work, she likes to brush up on her Spanish skills, rock climb, and spend time outdoors with her dogs.
Priya Ramamoorthy is a fourth year Public Health major and has been leading the HERS project data management and analysis. She has helped to establish guidelines for conducting the proposed study in the sample population and for on-site analysis using her experience conducting social research. She is an avid proponent of a more widespread public health education and enjoys being a part of community service projects specifically focused on girls’ empowerment. In her free time, she enjoys finding the next best dessert spot and volunteers at St. David’s Medical Center as student volunteer leader.
Ishani Chakravarty is a fourth year Chemical Engineering major (minoring in Business) and has worked as a liaison with the Mechanical Engineering team. She has overseen the production and testing of pads through the different iterations of the machine and overseen quality control and risk analysis. Ishani has worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant for a year and a half. Additionally, through the Society of Women Engineers she has participated in K-12 Stem Outreach as well as working to fundraise money to donate menstrual products for those facing homelessness. In her free time, she enjoys exploring Austin, particularly cafes, plant shops, and live music, and learning about sustainability.
Edith Muleiro is a fourth year Plan II and Middle Eastern Studies major and has led our team in the areas of communications, procurement, and budgeting, as well as with her experience working with refugees abroad in Greece. She has coordinated with all the different partners and organizations that have tied into this project, making sure we are addressing everyone’s needs, and used her Arabic expertise to help the team properly communicate in-country. Additionally, she has helped to source all the components of the menstrual pad. Edith is a project coordinator for the Liberal Arts Refugee Alliance and in her free time, enjoys reading and keeping herself up to date with current events.
The unique model of the HERS team and their partners is a defining part of this project. The team is composed of members from a variety of disciplines and includes public health, textiles and apparel, social work, middle eastern studies, as well as chemical and mechanical engineering. The make-up of the team was intentional so that a holistic perspective towards MHM could be employed to conduct research with our target community.
The HERS project consists of research conducted in Austin, Texas as well as in Lebanon through a partnership with the Lebanese Red Cross. In addition to the HERS team, three different Mechanical Engineering (ME) Senior Design teams at UT Austin have designed the pad press iterations accompanying the process.
Throughout the project, the team worked with a variety of partners. While the primary partners were the International Federation of the Red Cross and Crescent Societies and the Lebanese Red Cross, the project received invaluable input from many individuals and organizations throughout the preparation and implementation, also from a range of disciplines.
This allowed the team to approach the idea with a broad understanding of humanitarian work, NGOs, and academic research. The project was not simply interdisciplinary in academic fields but also in the professional field.
