Vannessa Velez

Bio

Vannessa is a Ph.D. candidate in U.S. history with an interest in racial capitalism, science and technology studies, and urban environmental inequality. Her dissertation traces the environmental and political history of metro Atlanta’s rapid economic development from the beginning of national urban renewal in 1949 to 1996 when the city cemented its status as a global hub after hosting the Centennial Olympics. In particular, she focuses on how Atlanta’s early and enthusiastic embrace of globalization and new urban planning and engineering trends led to great economic success and widespread celebration as the new "Black Mecca" for African American business and culture. Unfortunately, this progress came at the expense of the city’s most vulnerable communities and their local environments—the consequences of which Atlanta is struggling to overcome today.

Her research has been supported by numerous institutions, including the Stanford Humanities Center, the Eisenhower Institute, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the MIT SHASS Fellowship program, and the University of Pennsylvania's Provost Predoctoral Fellowship program.

Honors & Awards

• University of Pennsylvania Provost’s Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania (2024 - Present)
• MIT SHASS Predoctoral Diversity Dissertation Fellowship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2023 - 2024)
• Clifford Roberts Graduate Fellowship, Eisenhower Institute, Gettysburg College (2023 - 2024)
• Stanford Humanities Center Dissertation Prize, Stanford Humanities Center (2022 - 2023)
• The Norall Family Scholarship, The Phi Beta Kappa - North California Association (2022)
• Diversity Dissertation Research Opportunity (DDRO) Award, Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education Stanford University (2022)
• Graduate Research Opportunity (GRO) Award, School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University (2021)
• The Center for African Studies Workshop Grant, The Center for African Studies (2020)
• The Diversity and Inclusion Fund Award, Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Stanford University (2019 - 2020)
• The Geballe Research Workshop Grant, The Stanford Humanities Center (2019 - 2020)
• 2019 Stanford Community Impact Award, The Stanford Alumni Association (May 2019)
• Social Science Research Council (SSRC)-Mellon Mays Graduate Initiative Fellowship, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation & the Social Science Research Council (2017 - Present)
• The Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Fellowship, Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Stanford University (2017 - Present)
• Fellow for the 2016 Center for Jewish History Seminar on Archival and Historical Research, The Center for Jewish History (2016)
• The Evelyn Abdalah Menconi Travel Grant, The Arab American National Museum (2016)
• Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, The Andrew Mellon Foundation and the City College of New York (2015-2017)

Education & Certifications

• BA, City College of New York, History (2017)