Estorcien named Emerging Scholar Fund recipient

O’Neill Assistant Professor Vernise Estorcien wants to make community services better by promoting fairness, efficiency, and responsiveness in programs and organizations. Her research looks at how public and nonprofit organizations work, with a focus on racial issues, social equity, and programs designed to connect everyday people with government services that feel accessible and relevant.

That work caught the attention of ARNOVA, a national organization focused on supporting and advancing nonprofit and philanthropic research.

Estorcien has been selected as one of the organization’s Emerging Scholar Fund recipients for 2024. Each year, the award recognizes 10 promising nonprofit scholars and practitioners and supports their research efforts.

“Receiving the ARNOVA Emerging Scholar Award is a tremendous honor that validates my commitment to studying public and nonprofit management, particularly in the realm of minority youth development,” Estorcien says. “This recognition will establish my reputation as a rising academic in the field, support the advancement of my research on minority youth, and enable me to advocate for community initiatives that are crucial for underserved populations.”

Some of Estorcien’s most recent work focused on the impact of police mentoring for at-risk youth through police athletic leagues, an area that has not been studied widely. She also has begun a collaborative project with colleagues and students at IU Indianapolis which will examine how nonprofits foster community well-being through civic integration of migrant and displaced youth.

Professor Laurie Paarlberg, who serves as Estorcien’s faculty mentor, nominated Estorcien for the award.

“I have been extremely impressed by her commitment to advancing her nonprofit and voluntary action scholarship,” Paarlberg wrote in the letter. “Dr. Estorcien’s interdisciplinary work demonstrates a strong commitment to addressing pressing social issues, particularly youth engagement through voluntary associations. Both emerging strands of research have the potential to make important contributions to understanding how nonprofit/voluntary organizations engage youth from often marginalized backgrounds, a particularly important topic with implications for theory and practice of civic engagement.”

Estorcien will receive her award at the 2024 ARNOVA conference in November.