About the ThinkLab
The CECJ ThinkLab at CU Denver serves as a research forum and creative space where students engage in critical investigations and discussions centered on the cross-cutting dimensions of climate and society (impacts, vulnerability, disaster risk reduction, global health, adaptation, education, ethics, equity, and action). Using climate justice and civic engagement as integrative themes, the CECJ ThinkLab seeks to attract and serve students from all cultural backgrounds and academic interests, including the STEM disciplines, social sciences, urban planning, humanities, and arts, and spark their interests to learn across disciplinary knowledge or collective action in Colorado and beyond. Moreover, the ThinkLab is committed to supporting and encouraging students from underrepresented groups (broadly defined) in their pursuit of cross-disciplinary climate and society scholarship and creative activities.
The CECJ ThinkLab addresses the need for: a) interdisciplinary and equity-minded STEM training to address the multifactorial causes and impacts of climate change; and b) a diverse workforce that reflects the changing demographics and climate resilience needs of Colorado. Through cross-disciplinary (climate and society) thinking, hands-on research, collaborative activities, and peer-to-peer learning, the CECJ initiative builds undergraduate research capacities, fosters community, and cultivates leadership and networks.
CECJ Fellows/ Supported Students
The CECJ ThinkLab builds undergraduate and graduate student research and community engagement capacities with support from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (EURēCA! Student Assistants program), the Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, the Research Development Office, and CU Denver Inclusive Excellence grants.
2025-26: Luis Vargas (STEM OPT), Aleksandra Cejovic (Health & Behavioral Sciences, Doctoral), Marianna White (Environmental & Occupational Health, MPH)
2024-25: Ruth Hundi (Public Health), Carolina Jaime-Anson (Health & Behavioral Sciences, Doctoral), Sarah Le (Public Health), Gabriella Mayne (Health & Behavioral Sciences, Doctoral), Steven Ocana (Public Health), Melissa Porrey (Health & Behavioral Sciences, Doctoral), Luis Vargas (Public Health), Stefanie Varghese (Public Health), Marianna White (Environmental & Occupational Health, Masters in Public Health), Yuting Xiang (Communications and Public Health), Laila Zeid (Biology).
2023-24: Fahima Abdullahi (Biology), Celeste Garcia (Architectural Studies), Ruth Hundi (Public Health), Sarah Le (Public Health), Luis Vargas (Public Health), Stefanie Varghese (Public Health), Laura Zabaleta (Criminal Justice), Laila Zeid (Biology)
Many students presented their research at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting and CU Denver’s Research and Creative Activities Symposium (RaCAS) from 2024 to 2026 (upcoming).
In 2024, Ruth Hundi, Luis Vargas, and Stefanie Varghese (now public health alumni) won the RaCAS President’s Sustainable Solutions Challenge Award. Their research examined how the 2023-24 El Niño evolved across four countries (Australia, Ecuador, Peru, and the U.S.). In 2025, Gabriella Mayne (HBS PhD candidate) and Laila Zeid (now Integrative Biology alum) won the Top Oral and Runner-up Presentation awards in Sustainability. Their research focused on maternal health and social vulnerability and climate change and brain health.
CECJ Projects
- Climate, Social, & Malaria Vulnerabilities in Peru
- Social Vulnerability & Infant Mortality in Peru
- Ecosyndemic & Syndemic Mapping in Colorado and Peru
- Early Warnings Systems & El Niño Definitions
- El Niño-Southern Oscillation: A Multidisciplinary View
- Climate Change Education & Climate Justice
- Community Engagement & Climate Justice Case Studies
CECJ Activities
The CECJ ThinkLab supports undergraduate and graduate student research as well as faculty and staff capacity building via community-building activities in partnership with various campus units (e.g., CLAS’s Access and Community Engagement [ACE] Council).
(Upcoming in 2026) CLAS ACE Council presents: Community Engagement Reading Circles with the Place-Based Justice Network, fostering place-based community engagement capacity building across the CU Denver campus, April 23 (11am-12:30 pm) and April 28 (11am- 12:15pm). Hybrid. Registration info soon.
Worldwide Climate & Justice Education Week: Climate Change & Health Impacts – Whose Responsible? Learning session in the CU Denver Undergraduate Public Health Program's Introduction to Environmental Health course, April 22, 2025.
Community Engagement Cafe: Exploring Connections between the Place-based Justice Network & Community-engaged Geographers, AAG 2025 Meeting, Detroit, MI, March 27. Co-organized with Dr. Gavin Luter of the Place-based Justice Network and EPIC-Network.
Community Engagement Cafe: Climate Justice and Advocacy, skill-building sessions with Conservation Colorado’s Climate Justice Leadership Academy, connecting students’ academic studies to learning how to collaborate with local communities for mutual benefit and collective action, December 13, 2024 and March 13, 2025.
Climate Justice Cafe: Elevating Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research, celebrating CU Denver undergraduate students and lessons learned from students, November 11, 2024.
Native Peoples and Climate Justice, featuring Johnny Valdez, an emerging Nunt’zi, Ute Traditional Ecological Knowledge scholar, and Dr. Aldora White Eagle, Hinono'ei (Northern Arapaho), CU Denver Director of American Indian Student Services (AISS), February 29, 2024.
CECJ Publications/Products
Schamess, L., Ramírez, I.J., Bales, T., et al. 2026. Elevating the discipline: creating pathways for geographers as public scholars. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 1- 18. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2025.2603505
Glantz, M.H., & Ramírez, I.J. 2025. Enhancing Societal Value of Early Warning Early Action and Anticipatory Action Frameworks using NOAA’s Oceanic Niño Index. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science. https://rdcu.be/d9O3d
For more information, please contact me, Dr. Ivan J. Ramírez (PI and Director), at ivan.ramirez@ucdenver.edu and/or visit our webpage (https://climatehealthjustice.wordpress.com/cecj-thinklab/).