The Georgia Team
Emily Lemon, PhD
Research-Community Partner
Dr. Emily Lemon is a Guatemalan-American social and behavioral scientist with a deep commitment to health equity and community-led research. She lived in Atlanta for 15 years and has been active in the immigrant rights movement since 2007. That experience shaped how she approaches her work—centering community voices, honoring lived experiences, and turning research into action.
Through La Red Latinx, an Atlanta-based collective of Latinx researchers, Emily partners with communities to make sure research isn’t just about collecting data—it’s about creating change. She works in and around Metro Atlanta, GA, and the Rio Grande Valley, TX, focusing on how immigration policies impact the mental health of Latinx youth and families. She uses tools like Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), where young people lead the way, along with photovoice and other creative methods that help tell stories in powerful, authentic ways.
With over a decade of experience in community-engaged research, Emily’s work spans topics like racial trauma, immigration policy, and youth mental health. At the core of everything she does is a belief that research should reflect the people it’s about—and that young people, families, and communities are the real experts.
Kathleen Sophia Mera Nieto
Research-Community Partner
Kathleen Sophia Mera Nieto, born in Colombia and having lived in Georgia for nearly a decade, currently serves as the coordinator of the PARA Jóvenes Community Action Board (CAB) based in Atlanta, Georgia. She was one of the youth participants in an initial Photovoice project conducted in Atlanta in 2022 under the leadership of Dr. Lemon. Since then, she has continued to collaborate with Dr. Lemon, supporting the dissemination of research findings from the original project and co-leading a second Photovoice initiative in 2023. Kathleen is a co-author of a paper published in Health Education & Behavior and has another manuscript currently under review in the field of Community Psychology. She has presented her work at the 2023 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, as well as at various community-based meetings. Recently, Kathleen has been working with a group of youth to produce a short film that highlights the mental health impacts of immigration laws on young people and their families. With projects like these, Kathleen aims to amplify youth perspectives and bring greater awareness to the lived experiences and challenges faced by immigrant communities.
The Georgia Team
Emily Lemon, PhD
Research-Community Partner
Dr. Emily Lemon is a Guatemalan-American social and behavioral scientist with a deep commitment to health equity and community-led research. She lived in Atlanta for 15 years and has been active in the immigrant rights movement since 2007. That experience shaped how she approaches her work—centering community voices, honoring lived experiences, and turning research into action.
Through La Red Latinx, an Atlanta-based collective of Latinx researchers, Emily partners with communities to make sure research isn’t just about collecting data—it’s about creating change. She works in and around Metro Atlanta, GA, and the Rio Grande Valley, TX, focusing on how immigration policies impact the mental health of Latinx youth and families. She uses tools like Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), where young people lead the way, along with photovoice and other creative methods that help tell stories in powerful, authentic ways.
With over a decade of experience in community-engaged research, Emily’s work spans topics like racial trauma, immigration policy, and youth mental health. At the core of everything she does is a belief that research should reflect the people it’s about—and that young people, families, and communities are the real experts.
Kathleen Sophia Mera Nieto
Research-Community Partner
Kathleen Sophia Mera Nieto, born in Colombia and having lived in Georgia for nearly a decade, currently serves as the coordinator of the PARA Jóvenes Community Action Board (CAB) based in Atlanta, Georgia. She was one of the youth participants in an initial Photovoice project conducted in Atlanta in 2022 under the leadership of Dr. Lemon. Since then, she has continued to collaborate with Dr. Lemon, supporting the dissemination of research findings from the original project and co-leading a second Photovoice initiative in 2023. Kathleen is a co-author of a paper published in Health Education & Behavior and has another manuscript currently under review in the field of Community Psychology. She has presented her work at the 2023 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, as well as at various community-based meetings. Recently, Kathleen has been working with a group of youth to produce a short film that highlights the mental health impacts of immigration laws on young people and their families. With projects like these, Kathleen aims to amplify youth perspectives and bring greater awareness to the lived experiences and challenges faced by immigrant communities.
