Judy Pryor-Ramirez Named Senior Fellow for Bonner Center for Civic Engagement

Judy Pryor-Ramirez has been named a senior fellow at the University of Richmond’s Bonner Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). Pryor-Ramirez, a clinical associate professor of public service at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, brings a wealth of expertise in participatory action research (PAR)—an approach that prioritizes the knowledge and expertise of individuals directly impacted by an issue the research aims to explore. 

As a practitioner and scholar of participatory action research, Pryor-Ramirez has spent years working with social justice organizations and community-based networks across the country. Her research and teaching focus on elevating the voices of those who are often marginalized, ensuring that their lived experiences are at the center of social change efforts.

 

“What excites me about this fellowship is that I’m afforded the time and space to think more deeply about the big ideas occupying my mind these days, such as lived-experience leadership, equitable participation, and power,” said Pryor-Ramirez, who grew up in the Richmond area and was an employee at the CCE from 2008–10. “I’m also excited about being ‘home’ and supporting the CCE’s community-engaged practice in the region.”

At the CCE, Pryor-Ramirez will lead workshops for faculty, staff, and community members. These workshops will focus on methods and strategies that encourage communities to adapt and grow in response to organizational or community level change. Through these workshops, she aims to build capacity for changemakers to deepen their understanding of how participatory action research can contribute to more equitable and sustainable communities.

“Participatory action research (PAR) is a practice in equity and inclusion. Those closest to the issue are co-researchers who identify the problems and craft the solutions alongside academic researchers,” she explained. “In the Community-Based Participatory Action Research course that I teach at Wagner, I am strengthening opportunities for Wagner students to practice equity and inclusion for their future careers in public service.”

Pryor-Ramirez’s fellowship will continue to support the CCE’s participatory community planning process, which will result in a comprehensive plan for the future of the CCE’s work. She has played a key role in guiding this process, ensuring that the voices of those most impacted by the center’s work are heard and valued by introducing the Story Circle Interview Method—a participatory research technique she developed that gathers rich narratives from individuals about their lived experiences. “The Story Circle Interview Method contributes to understanding community impact and lived experience because it focuses on practices of deep listening and harvesting stories for analysis,” said Pryor-Ramirez.

For the community planning process for the CCE, she co-designed a research effort that conducted 22 story circle interview sessions with 108 members of the CCE community, collecting 309 individual stories. “By listening to and analyzing hundreds of stories, the Center has a better idea of their impact and the needs and concerns of their constituents,” she noted.

Pryor-Ramirez added, “Being in dialogue with other PAR practitioners at UR and practicing participatory methods used by the CCE expands my repertoire and allows me to bring that back to the course I teach at Wagner about community-based participatory action research.”

Through this fellowship, Pryor-Ramirez continues to bridge academic scholarship and community engagement, building stronger, more equitable connections between research and practice.