Southside ReLeaf and the University of Richmond Receive $150K Jeffress Trust Award to Study Local Flooding
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2026
RICHMOND, VA — The University of Richmond is partnering with local environmental justice nonprofit Southside ReLeaf on a community-led study of flooding on the Southside of Richmond. This project has received $150,000 in support from the Jeffress Trust.
The Jeffress Trust Awards Program in Research Advancing Health Equity supports collaborative research projects that address health inequities across Virginia. Southside ReLeaf will serve as the project lead, with the University of Richmond and Virginia Department of Health as subawardees. This initial grant also places Southside ReLeaf and Richmond in a small pool of candidates for a larger $600,000 grant to deepen their shared work in future years.
Over the next three years, Stephanie Spera (associate professor of geography, environment, and sustainability), Hemali Oza (assistant professor of health studies), and Todd Lookingbill (professor of geography, environment, and sustainability and biology) will work closely with Southside ReLeaf to create a community-led research roadmap that links flooding, infrastructure, and health outcomes in a way that directly supports policy change and community well-being.
"Flooding is not only a climate change issue — it's a reflection of broader inequities in social and environmental drivers of health that both increase the exposure to and impact of flooding," said Oza. "It influences everything from access to healthcare, safe transportation, and the built environment to environmental exposures, stress, injury, and overall physical and mental health. By understanding these connections, we can help communities develop solutions that not only build resilience but are also more equitable."
Building on the Go with the Flow community-based flood mapping initiative, the project includes a community science component that will rely on resident-generated knowledge as a critical input for understanding environmental hazards often invisible in official data reports. The partners will work alongside residents to create a participatory map that illustrates real-time impacts of flooding on community health and offers powerful insights to local and state policymakers.
The roadmap will also be designed for replication in other cities with significant pluvial or tidal flooding challenges, advancing systemic change beyond our local communities.
“Over the past two years, Go with the Flow has shown us the power of putting community knowledge at the center of flood research,” said Sheri Shannon, co-founder and director of programs at Southside ReLeaf. “Residents are the experts on how flooding affects their neighborhoods, their daily lives, and their health. This funding will allow us to deepen that community-led work, expand our bilingual outreach, and ensure that residents’ lived experiences help shape both the map we create and the solutions that emerge from it. Just as importantly, this project will help us develop a roadmap for expanding the impact of this work beyond Richmond, so that communities facing similar flooding challenges can build on what we learn together.”
