Jodi Connelly (M.F.A., art, '18)  has been awarded the first ever Ali Youssefi artist residency award. The award includes studio space and a solo exhibition (December 2019 - February 2020) at the Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento and a monthly stipend.  Connelly’s work investigates the complexities of the human relationship to nature and the environment. Through site-specific environmental interventions that include photographic documentation, sculpture and drawing, she explores issues of climate change and the effects migration and development have had on native ecosystems.