Liana Smale

Liana Smale is a second-year Master of Environmental Science (MESc) ’23 student at the Yale School of the Environment. She is originally from Los Angeles, California, and she graduated from the University of Michigan in 2020 with dual BA and BFA degrees in environmental studies and art/design. She is interested in how participatory processes can address environmental injustices in cities, and she is currently conducting her Master’s thesis research about community stewardship in public parks in the Bronx with her advisor, Dr. Dorceta Taylor, along with the USDA Forest Service NYC Urban Field Station. She is also working with UPROSE through a Yale clinic course to operationalize a Just Transition in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. As a Fellow at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice, Liana is collaborating with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. She will be conducting research through interviews and surveys to make the Garden’s workforce development program more accessible, while meeting the needs of applicants and future employers.