Upstate Institute News and Announcements

During the summer of 2026, I had the amazing opportunity to work as an Upstate Institute Summer Field School Fellow at the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees. The Center is a not-for-profit organization located in Utica, NY that has served refugees and immigrants from more than 40 countries since 1981. The Center provides refugee resettlement, employment help, translation and interpretation, access to social services, English and citizenship classes, and one-on-one tutoring to help clients prepare for the naturalization process.

Working with the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) this summer, Sophia Luziett ’28 created a comprehensive guide to anti-racist resources, organizations, and museums both locally and regionally through interviews, site visits, and secondary research.

This summer, I had the honor and privilege to work under the Thaw Curator of Native Art Christina Burke at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY. During my fellowship, I conducted provenance research on a collection of baskets and objects from the Gottlieb Adam Steiner (1844–1916) Collection and Native objects donated by his grandson, William Steiner Huff (1927–2021).

To ensure these landscapes remain resilient for future generations, the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF) is embracing new mapping technologies to monitor forest health and climate resilience. My role was to build a knowledge base in preparation for developing an organization-wide invasive species management plan.

Colgate University has been awarded the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation awarded by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation recognizing the University’s continuing commitment to community engagement and partnerships.

This summer, I worked with the Adirondack Community Foundation (ACF), the region’s primary grant maker, on three financial forecasting projects focused on charitable fund resilience. Since 1997, ACF has stewarded donor assets and distributed over $83 million in grants supporting basic needs, education, economic vitality, the arts, the environment, and more.

I worked with the Rogers Environmental Education Center in Sherburne, NY, where I advanced their first community science initiative to collect baseline data on native bee species across nine Central New York counties. Building on this effort, I developed the Great Pollinator Project: Rogers Center Survey, which expanded the scope to include all native pollinators—bees, beetles, butterflies, and moths—utilizing iNaturalist and involving community scientists.

This summer, I worked with the United Way of Mid Rural New York (UWMRNY) to create a promotional video for funded partners and simulations to show complex choices many face due to poverty. UWMRNY is a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring that every person in the communities it serves has access to education, healthcare, financial stability, and basic necessities.

This summer, I had the opportunity to work with Champlain Area Trails (CATs), a non-profit organization based in Westport, NY, in the Champlain Valley region of the Adirondacks. Throughout my fellowship, I conducted maintenance on the vast trail network under CAT’s domain and conducted research in the Essex Quarry Nature Preserve on invasive species mitigation and the growth of native plants.

This summer, I had the opportunity to work with the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Madison County to address the question: What is the demand for and feasibility of establishing a shared-use commercial kitchen in Madison County? This project’s research question was developed in response to the 2024 closure of Nelson Farms, Madison County’s only value-added processing facility.