Join us to celebrate the first semester of projects from the Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice (TNEJ) initiative.

 TNEJ seeks to advance environmental and climate justice through collaborative storytelling, design, and research. 

This fall, Emerson College students, faculty, and community learning partners have worked together in two Social Impact Studios to co-create multimedia stories to imagine what environmental justice can look like in Boston. This is your chance to experience those projects in community with collaborators and partners from Emerson College, GreenRoots, Speak for the Trees Boston, the Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative, and more. 

Planting Futures - Fall 2023

Join us to celebrate the first semester of projects from the Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice (TNEJ) initiative. TNEJ seeks to advance environmental and climate justice through collaborative storytelling, design, and research. 


Join us to celebrate the latest projects from the Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence (TNGV) initiative.

 The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence is co-hosting this semester’s Peace in Process event.  

This fall, Emerson College students, faculty, and community learning partners have worked together in two Social Impact Studios to co-create a short documentary film and an interactive theatre performance to support peace, healing, and justice in Boston. 

Peace in Process - Fall 2023

Join us to celebrate the latest projects from the Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence (TNGV) initiative. The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence is co-hosting this semester’s Peace in Process event.  



TNGV Peace in Process | Founding Partners: Engagement Lab at Emerson College, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, MGH Gun Violence Prevention Center

The Engagement Lab is thrilled to partner with Bright Lights Screening Series, Emerson Office of Sustainability, and Emerson VMA to co-present "Future Imaginaries: Visions for Environmental Justice," part of the brand new Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice initiative. 

Lakota Nation vs the United States - Film Screening & Panel Discussion

Part of Future Imaginaries: Visions for Environmental Justice, co-presented with Bright Lights Screening Series.

Three Native American people wearing some body paint and traditional jewelry, the person on the left wears a tank top with a Native graphic on it

Read the Berkeley Beacon article on the launch of the TNEJ initiative

ELab launches Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice initiative, pioneering positive stories for climate action

It is so important to listen and care for our hearts, bodies, and minds, so that we can show up stronger for our communities. Join us at the Engagement Lab for an interactive opportunity to try out Peace Play, a healing activity facilitated by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.

RSVP to reserve your own Peace Play kit to use during the event:

Self-Care for Social Change: Peace Play

Join us for an interactive opportunity to try out Peace Play, a healing activity facilitated by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. 

Calling all Emerson students! Thinking about spring registration? Did you know you can make an impact on campus and beyond by taking a Social Impact Studio?

Join us at the ELab on 10/27 from 2-3pm to hear from faculty and students about upcoming Studio courses in

Make An Impact: Social Impact Studio Info Session

Emerson students! Thinking about spring registration? Did you know you can make an impact by taking a Social Impact Studio?

Audience members watching performers on stage

The Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence initiative received a grant from Harvard Radcliffe Institute to bring together organizations and individuals from across the country who are doing narrative change work related to gun violence.

On Monday, October 16 and Tuesday, October 17, we came together to share and learn from each other. Participants included representatives from the medical community, arts and media schools, the entertainment industry, and community-based organizations from Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and more.

The TNGV initiative received a grant from Harvard Radcliffe Institute to bring together organizations and individuals from across the country.

A posed photograph with the group of participants in the Radcliffe workshop

TNGV convenes accelerator workshop at Harvard Radcliffe Institute

, and more! Social Impact Studios give Emerson students the chance to collaborate with grassroots changemakers across the city through the ELab’s two Social Impact Initiatives:

☮️ Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence

🌱 Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice 

Spring 2024 Studio courses will focus on interactive filmmaking, impact producing, collaborative documentary, theatre, and more!

Learn about our Spring 2024 Social Impact Studios

, come play some board games, meet new people, and share snacks at the Engagement Lab! 

ELab Student Game Night

Come play some board games, meet new people, and share snacks at the Engagement Lab!


Game Night graphic with checkerboard and dice in Engagement Lab's colors

Read the latest news from the Engagement Lab and our two Social Impact Initiatives

Read the Engagement Lab's October 2023 Newsletter

Radical Imagination: Responding to an Environmental Crisis in Motion

A person walking toward a white hut in front of a vast body of water and snowy mountains

The Engagement Lab is thrilled to partner with Bright Lights Screening Series, Emerson Office of Sustainability, and Emerson VMA to co-present Future Imaginaries: Visions for Environmental Justice, part of the brand new Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice initiative. 

Part of Future Imaginaries: Visions for Environmental Justice, co-presented with Bright Lights Screening Series, Emerson Office of Sustainability, and Emerson VMA

How to Blow up a Pipeline - Film Screening & Panel Discussion

Panelists Juwaria Jama, Susan Lemont, and Naia Tenerowicz

Kick off the fall semester with a casual meet-and-greet at the Engagement Lab on 9/14 at 12pm! 

This is your chance to get to know the ELab team, ask any questions you may have about our programs and Studios, and enjoy free pizza and refreshments!

ELab Student Meet and Greet

Nine individuals posing for a selfie at the Media Design studio art show

Read the latest news from the Engagement Lab and watch the highlight video for our end-of-semester Peace in Process event!

Spring 2023 Documentary Social Impact Studio

Read the Engagement Lab's May 2023 Newsletter

This spring, 32 students and 12 community partners worked together in Social Impact Studios to co-create films, theatre performances, interactive workshops, toolkits, resources, curriculum, and more.

On May 2, 2023, over 120 people came together at Emerson College to celebrate these projects at Peace in Process. This semester’s community partners include Boston Uncornered, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, Massachusetts General Hospital Gun Violence Prevention Center, and Teen Empowerment.

Peace in Process: Spring 2023

On May 2, 2023 over 120 people came together to celebrate this semester's Social Impact Studio projects. Watch the highlight video!

A gathering of five individuals seated on stage, one of whom is speaking into a microphone

The event was the first formal collaboration between the Engagement Lab and GreenRoots, which will serve as one of the core partners of the ELab’s second Social Impact Initiative, Transforming Narratives for Climate Justice. 

Students engaging with a map during the Teach-In on Sustainability

Teach-In on Sustainability: Transforming Narratives for Climate Justice

“Hospitals around the country have an obligation to train a generation of healthcare workers, physicians, nurses, social workers, to view gun violence as a major public health crisis – perhaps the public health crisis of our generation.”  

Ruth Rollins speaking on Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence panel

Giving Oxygen to Hope: TNGV Documentary Screening at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Join The Stepping Strong Injury Prevention Program

 for an exciting event featuring the Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence initiative to present two of their short films followed by a panel discussion including key participants from the films.

Documentary Screening and Discussion at Brigham & Women's Hospital

Join The Stepping Strong Injury Prevention Program for an exciting event featuring the Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence initiative to present two of their short films followed by a panel discussion including key participants from the films.

Read the latest news from the Engagement Lab

Social Justice + Media Symposium Keynote Speaker Roger Perry

Read the Engagement Lab's April 2023 Newsletter

The Spring Semester Studios have reached the half-way point, with the students gaining more insight from community partners and other guest speakers, getting hands-on experience, and taking field trips into various communities.

Councilor Brian Worrell visits TNGV journalism studio

Spring Social Impact Studios: April Updates

This month, we’re highlighting the work, contributions and accomplishments of Lizzy Cooper Davis and Dana Edell, and providing an update from Gino Canella’s documentary screening at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival

Lizzy Cooper Davis, Dana Edell, Gino Canella

Beyond The Classroom: April Updates From Engagement Lab Faculty Fellows

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - March 2023 Newsletter

An interview with Paul Mihailidis ahead of the 2023 Symposium in Las Vegas

Paul Mihailidis speaking at the 2020 Social Justice + Media Symposium

A Preview of the 2023 Social Justice + Media Symposium

Social Impact Studios, facilitated by the Engagement Lab, give Emerson students and faculty the opportunity to work directly with local grassroots changemakers to co-create media projects that will make an impact in Boston and beyond. Starting in Fall 2023, we will be offering Social Impact Studios in two initiatives: Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence and Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice.

Social Impact Studios, facilitated by the Engagement Lab, give Emerson students and faculty the opportunity to work directly with local grassroots changemakers to co-create media projects that will make an impact in Boston and beyond. 

A group of smiling students seated at desks in a classroom with an orange accent wall

Learn about our Fall 2023 Social Impact Studios

Carla Sheffield remembers the day 10 years ago when she learned her son had been fatally shot by a Boston police officer after a routine traffic stop in the South End...

Quiet Rooms Documentary Screening at Boston City Hall

From scholarly articles to augmented reality, from film screenings to community engagement projects, the faculty fellows at the Engagement Lab have produced a variety of interesting and valuable projects outside the classroom. This month, we are highlighting recent work from professors Gino Canella, John Craig Freeman, Nejem Raheem, and Homa Sarabi.

Gino Canella, John Craig Freeman, Nejem Raheem, and Homa Sarabi.

Beyond The Classroom: Updates From Engagement Lab Faculty Fellows

Announcing our next Social Impact Initiative, Transforming Narratives for Climate Justice

A plane flying near a smokestack during sunrise or sunset

Read the Engagement Lab's March 2023 Newsletter

Join us for a screening of two documentary short films about the impacts and root causes of gun violence, co-created by Emerson College students and affected members of the community.

Documentary Screening and Discussion at Boston City Hall

On Wednesday, March 1, the documentary was screened at Boston City Hall, bringing the film’s stories and perspectives of gun violence survivors directly to the city’s policymakers for the first time. 

Chaplain Clementina Chery speaking at the panel discussion

Quiet Rooms documentary reframes the narrative about gun violence in Boston

This semester, our Social Impact Studios will use journalism, theatre, and documentary filmmaking to transform narratives of gun violence in Boston in conjunction with community partners. 

Students in Spring 2022 Social Impact Studio in theatre

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence through Journalism and Theatre in Spring Social Impact Studios

Meet Will Dunn from Boston Uncornered, Social Justice + Media Symposium, Core Classes Series, and more


A group of students at a previous Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change

Read the Engagement Lab's February 2023 Newsletter

In Spring 2023, Emerson College’s Engagement Lab welcomed Will Dunn as a new Learning Partner in the Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence Initiative.

An interview with Learning Partner Will Dunn

One year of TNGV, Media Design Art Show, and more!


Media Design students at December 2022 Studio Art Show

Read the Engagement Lab's December 2022 Newsletter

Check out the December edition of the TNGV Newsletter, celebrating one year of the initiative.

Purple banner for TNGV Newsletter, featuring a photo of Janice Johnson from Louis D. Brown Peace Institute

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - December 2022 Newsletter

On December 8, Emerson College students gathered in Dorchester with partners from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and the Center for Teen Empowerment, to share their collective work from the fall semester’s Social Impact Studios in virtual reality and game design.

Peace in Process: Fall 2022

On December 8, 2022, Emerson students and partners gathered in Dorchester to share the latest TNGV projects. Watch the highlight video!

Purple banner image reading "Peace in Process," with photos of participants in fall social impact studios

Governments around the world are experiencing a trust deficit—a lack of trust between governments and their constituents, making it challenging for these institutions to deliver basic services. “Solving for Trust: Innovations in Smart Urban Governance” by Eric Gordon and Tomás Guarna is a research project funded by the Knight Foundation that builds an understanding of what the trust deficit is and how this issue can begin to be addressed to preserve democracy. Gordon and Guarna completed interviews with technologists and city leaders in Argentina, Spain, and the United States. Based on this research, the report provides seven recommendations for how city leaders, scholars, and policymakers can use different technology-based solutions to combat the trust deficit they are experiencing. 

Below are key takeaways from a conversation with co-author Eric Gordon. He discusses the project’s goals, its connection to the Engagement Lab at Emerson College, and how he and Guarna will take this research a step further. 

Left to right: Eric Gordon and Tomás Guarna

Solving For Trust: Eric Gordon Provides Insight On Why Building Institutional Trust Matters

Check out the November edition of the TNGV Newsletter

Header image of November Newsletter, featuring Spring 2022 TNGV theatre performance

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - November 2022 Newsletter

Find out more about the new Immersive Media course running in Spring 2023

Using Virtual Reality to Co-Design for Peace

Read about this year’s fall studios taught by Professors Eric Gordon and David Kelleher. Both professors talk about community engagement opportunities while students share what this immersive experience has been like so far.

Students collaborating in the Games for Social Change class 

A Glimpse at This Semester’s Fall Studios

The Engagement Lab welcomes Tyler Prendergast, our new Communications Manager. Tyler brings a variety of skills to the communications team, helping the Lab produce quality, engaging media content. Get to know Tyler’s background and personality below. 

Photo of Tyler, Courtesy of Christian Ruiz. 

Meet the Engagement Lab’s New Communications Manager

Four social impact studios will be open in the Spring 2023 semester as part of the current Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence (TNGV) initiative. Studios include CoDesign, grassroots journalism, documentary film, and theater education. 

The studios fall under the Engagement Lab’s Social Impact Design minor, in which students must take the CoDesign studio along with three social impact studios of choice. Although these studios count toward the Social Impact Design minor, any undergraduate Emerson student with a sophomore standing may take these studios. 

Hear from professors and past students to learn more about each studio’s unique community engagement opportunities. 

Partnered Studio class performance, taught by Dana Edell 

Spring Studios Offer Community Engagement Opportunities to All Students

The Engagement Lab welcomes three new and two returning student staff members for the 2022-2023 academic year. Get to know why they work at the ELab and more about their personalities. 

Introducing ELab Student Staff

Students from across the world came to Boston to immerse themselves in Emerson’s Media Design master’s program, and we hear their views on the program and life in Boston

This Year’s Media Design Cohort Experience and Advice

Quiet Rooms: A Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion

Quiet Rooms is a short documentary produced as part of the Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence Initiative. The film grapples with the reality of gun violence in Boston, showing the impact of gun violence - and what happens after the shot is fired. Through co-creation between students and faculty at Emerson college, community partners from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, including mothers whose sons were murdered due to gun violence in Boston, and members of the MGH Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Quiet Rooms highlights the gun violence epidemic in our country and centers the voices of survivors as together we seek new approaches to ending this violence.

After viewing the documentary, we will have a discussion with panelists from the Peace Institute, Emerson College and the MGH Center for Gun Violence Prevention.

Check out the latest edition of the TNGV Newsletter.

Purple banner for June 2022 edition of the TNGV Newsletter

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - June 2022 Newsletter

Originally published in Commonwealth Magazine on June 22, 2022. Outside of trauma rooms in hospitals around the country, there is a place that those in the medical field call the “quiet room.” 

Those who lost children or loved ones to gun violence share their pain in a new documentary, "Quiet Rooms." From left to right, Ruth Rollins, Clementina Chéry, Paul Prater, and Leeann Taylor.

Healing families of those killed by gun violence

Purple banner for the May 2022 edition of the TNGV Newsletter.

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - May 2022 Newsletter

On April 26, 2022, Emerson students and community partners came together to share the projects they co-created in TNGV Social Impact Studios. The community experienced live performances, the debut screening of the short documentary 

, and VR and 360 video from spring 2022 Social Impact Studios. We also heard from core partners and celebrated the launch of the new TNGV website. Appetizers and drinks were provided. 

TNGV Showcase: Spring 2022

On April 26, 2022, Emerson students and community partners came together to share the projects they co-created in TNGV Social Impact Studios

Group photo of studio participants in front of TNGV logos

In the fast-paced, ever-changing media landscape of today, the Engagement Lab at Emerson College works to understand and design media that challenges old, harmful narratives of social justice issues.

Participants gather on the last production day of the Changing Narratives of Gun Violence social impact studio. From back left: Sabrina Carr ’24, Cole Tatham ’22, Professor Eric Gordon. Middle row: Anna Porter, administrative coordinator, MGH Center for Gun Violence Prevention; Leeann Taylor, who lost her son, Daniel, to gun violence; John Yang ’21, a student who came to the Boston campus through the Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI); Senior Distinguished Director-in-Residence Theodore (Regge) Life; Engagement Lab Strategic Partnerships Manager Rachele Gardner; and Kate Haskins, coordinator, MGH Violence Intervention Advocacy Program. Seated: violence recovery advocate Rahsaan Peters.

Social Impact Studio Uses Filmmaking to Flip the Script on Gun Violence

Purple banner for the April 2022 edition of the TNGV Newsletter

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - April 2022 Newsletter

A blog-post reflection of the talk-back screening of Teen Empowerment's film Senseless Smoke.

The cast of Teen Empowerment's film, Senseless Smoke.

Promoting Peace Through the Power of the People

A blog-post reflection of a conversation with TH372 instructor Dana Edell.

Lighting on a stage form circular shapes on the ground.

Performing Solutions: A Dramatic Approach to Gun Violence Prevention (TH372)

A blog-post reflection of the talk-back screening of Bulletproof, directed by Todd Chandler.

A Reflection on Todd Chandler's Bulletproof

Purple banner for February 2022 edition of the TNGV Newsletter

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - February 2022 Newsletter

A blog-post reflection of studio course VM495 early in the semester.

Candid photo of class participants involved in discussion.

VM495: Turning Pain into Purpose

A blog-post introduction to the three newest student members of the TNGV team.

A photo collage of Marly Kaufman, John Yang, Destiny Murray, and the Engagement Lab logo.

Meet the Newest ELab Students Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence

Check out the first edition of the TNGV Newsletter.

Purple banner for December 2021 edition of the TNGV Newsletter.

Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence - December 2021 Newsletter

On December 2, 2021, we launched the Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence Initiative with a virtual event. The event featured Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, City Councilor Andrea Campbell, our partners from MGH and the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, and performances by local artists. Over 270 individuals from Boston and beyond participated.

TNGV Launch Event