Jennifer Terry, a professor in Gender and Sexuality Studies at UC Irvine with affiliations in Anthropology and Comparative Literature, served on the Executive Committee at the UCI Center for Medical Humanities. Raised in an army family, she recently completed a book exploring the link between war trauma and its insights into medicine and philosophy.

In response to her students' pandemic-related struggles, Jennifer conducted twelve months of research on ""situated utopias"" – community-based hope projects that highlight resilience in challenging circumstances. One case study focuses on the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic's response to drug addiction in the 1960s.

Jennifer emphasizes the value of object-oriented learning in PK-12 education, using examples like the iPhone to dissect history and origins. She believes climate change education should convey urgency without demoralizing, emphasizing our interconnectedness with the environment.

In her class, ""Politics, Health, and Medicine,"" she discusses topics like environmental racism to analyze structural issues. Despite climate change's urgency, Jennifer finds hope in authors like Rebecca Solnit, inspiring her belief in community resilience even in dire situations.