She focuses on environmental justice activism to show how marginalized populations affect political change at the intersection of social inequality, health, and the environment. She is currently working on a book manuscript about the history and political evolution of California environmental justice activism since the 1980s. Other projects cover a 1990s era anti-nuclear waste landfill campaign in the Mojave Desert’s Ward Valley, and green gentrification in Washington D.C. Her work integrates print and digital scholarship to reach a wide audience. Dr. Perkins has a B.A. in Development Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, a M.S. in Community Development from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.