Alums Jenny Fremlin, Ph.D., and Kristin Palmer, Ed.D., Receive Dianne Kipnes Social Innovation Award

Alums Jenny Fremlin, Ph.D., and Kristin Palmer, Ed.D., Receive Dianne Kipnes Social Innovation Award

Two alums can now add the mantle of 2023 Dianne Kipnes Social Innovation Award to their repertoires and work. Jenny Fremlin, Ph.D. (Media Psychology, ‘12) and Kristin Palmer, Ed.D. (Educational Leadership and Change, ‘16) will advance their work in their respective fields in 2023-2025.

Jenny Fremlin, Ph.D.

Dr. Fremlin’s project, “Enabling Women to Self-Advocate for Better Sexual Health Care,” gives special attention to women across diverse demographic groups and with healthcare access challenges. Dr. Fremlin’s award will support her research for Glyciome LLC and will analyze language and beliefs that negatively impact young women’s ability to seek provider education around genital disease, such as those that causally link to genital cancers. It is expected that her research will result in the design of a prototype mobile e-health app that women can confidently use for self-care and to foster more productive, efficient healthcare, no matter their background or health literacy.

“I’ve been working with the founders of Glyciome for over a decade,” said Dr. Fremlin. “Learning about the ongoing issues women have with personal care products directly from customers on one side, while also being able to learn about all the research, really opened my eyes. It’s not just an issue of women not paying attention; it’s so much deeper. There are all these pieces — limited health classes, cultural taboos, social structures — that collide and make it so we’re stumbling in the dark when we try to talk about genital health, when it doesn’t need to be that way.

“Turning research into action, a foundation in the School of Psychology, is a big part of how I am approaching this topic. We can see in the scientific research that this one, most common vaginal condition is doubling the risk of all these other conditions that lead to an enormous burden on women, their families, and the healthcare system. It seems like a simple concept to treat the root condition to reduce more risks, but then when you take into account behaviors and perception around the topic of vaginal health it becomes more complex. Untangling that and being able to connect with women about this uncommon and often uncomfortable topic is where media psychology plays a crucial role. And to do that, we’re starting with research again, to find out what women want to know and how they are comfortable talking about it.”

Kristin Palmer, Ed.D.

Dr. Palmer will use her award to partially fund her project, “Providing Skills Training to Women Entrepreneurs in Africa’s Leading Ladies Community.” This partnership project with DeAfrica (Distance Education for Africa), Coursera, and the University of Virginia, will support mentors for African women enrollees in online business courses over a two-year period. Dr. Palmer’s work will include research to assess the impact of mentoring and online community building efforts on networking and entrepreneurship learning outcomes.

“The future of youth in this world and potentially all of our futures hinge on Africa,” said Dr. Palmer. “All of the top 10 fertility rates by country are countries located in Africa. We are looking at almost 50% of the world’s youth (under age 25) will be in Africa as of 2035. If you believe in coming into balance with climate change and education as a fundamental building block for a well-lived, high-quality life (I do!), then trying to provide education and building capacity across the United Nations Sustainability Goals in this region is essential. 

“My work has proven that working in partnership, we can provide free education at scale across Africa, building strong learning communities where individuals can grow together and prosper.  We’ve now granted over 45,000 scholarships and reached learners in every country. I am so honored to be able to do this work and this award from Fielding helps to explore paid mentorship and the potential improved learning outcomes when participants are working with paid (vs. volunteer) mentors. This work has been transformational to so many people in Africa.”

Institute for Social Innovation Director and Dean Emerit Charles McClintock, Ph.D. said both projects will continue to have an impact in the Fielding community and globally.

“The Kipnes Award Committee was pleased to be able to support two projects this year among a group of highly competitive proposals,” said Dr. McClintock. “The proposals from Dr. Fremlin and Dr. Palmer stood out for being innovative and having the potential to have high impact on a large number of women in relation to health, education, and economic advancement, both nationally and globally. The work of these two graduates reminds us of the long-term power of a Fielding education.”

The Dianne Kipnes Fund for Social Innovation was established in 2016 with an exceptional gift from Clinical Psychology alum Dianne Kipnes, Ph.D.’98. The Fund currently supports alumni projects that demonstrate innovation and collaboration for improving the lives of individuals, organizations, and/or communities.