1. First, please share your current professional title. Additionally, describe your background, experience, and research as it relates to Quality-of-Life studies, including your perspective on the role of Community Indicators research.

I am vice president for community investment at the Central New York Community Foundation where I lead efforts to use community indicators and local data to strategically address the most pressing social problems that threaten quality of life. This has enabled me to be involved in helping to organize and lead such efforts as a community literacy coalition, an anti lead poisoning coalition, an initiative to address racial inequality, anti-poverty initiatives and a variety of other efforts. I am also Associate professor of Sociology at Le Moyne College which has ensured that I am up to date on the latest research on these issues and the most promising ways to solve them. Many times I am also able to work through these issues with students, giving them a first-hand experience of professions that seek so address social problems at the community level. Finally, I am able to contribute to the growing knowledge in these areas publishing books, articles and book chapters on this work.

In my mind, Community Indicators is the bedrock of this work; you cannot work to solve what you cannot see and indicators helps us see what is going on with much greater clarity.

2. What initially attracted you to the field of quality-of-life studies? How do you see Community Indicators contributing to this field?

Living in multiple cities over time and working in other countries helped me realize how starkly different people’s everyday experiences can be. I came to see the value in measuring these differences and articulating them in way that can help communities recognize where things are working and replicate best practices for the greater good of the citizens of the world.

3. In your opinion, what areas of quality-of-life studies are currently lacking attention? What advice would you offer to future QoL researchers, particularly regarding the integration of community indicators?

I think that the interface between community indicators data and action and then evaluation could be improved greatly and I have been able to participate in recent innovations that allow for real-time data to action decision making and then follow up evaluation. However this issue will only partly be solved with technology. The other half is changing the culture around how government, NGOs and philanthropy work.

4. How long have you been a member of ISQOLS? What motivated you to join, and how has your involvement impacted your career and research? What are your thoughts on the integration of the Community Indicators Consortium with ISQOLS and its potential benefits for the measurement of wellbeing?

I have been a member of CIC since 2015 and only more recently coming into contact with ISQOLS and joining in 2023 so I am excited about this new partnership. I love the environment of rigor and collegiality that ISQOLS conferences create and really enjoyed the conference in Rotterdam. You really feel welcomed and get to know people at the meals and then end up making plans for the future. I think this new partnership can help to address the connection between knowledge and action on the local and national levels.