Across health, care, aging, arts and culture, and community.
Hi. I’m Andrea Schell. Driven by an interest in how people experience themselves, one another, and the systems that shape everyday life, I create approaches, strategies, and programs that foster dignity, belonging, and connection. I work across health, care, arts and culture, and community, using qualitative research, program development, creative practice, and public engagement to help organizations better understand people and respond thoughtfully to complex questions of being human. I enjoy working with teams to create meaningful “now” solutions while also contributing to the longer-term project of culture change.
My work typically falls into three connected areas. Depending on the project, I may work across all three or focus on a single area.
I use qualitative research to better understand people’s experiences and the questions that matter most to them. Through interviews, literature reviews, and thematic analysis, I help organizations identify patterns, clarify complex issues, and translate research into practical insights.
I work with organizations to develop programs, engagement strategies, and initiatives that respond thoughtfully to the people and communities they serve.
Research has the greatest impact when people can understand it, connect with it, and use it. I develop public-facing work, including writing, workshops, films, storytelling, events, and other creative projects, that help ideas reach broader audiences.
Over the past twenty years, these are the ideas, fields, and communities that have shaped my work.
How do we make research meaningful in everyday life?
How can programs and systems better support the people they are designed to serve?
What role can creativity play in helping people understand, connect, and take action?
How can we better understand and communicate the lived experience of unpaid family dementia caregiving using creative practices?
Designed and produced an interdisciplinary body of work combining qualitative research, documentary film, performance, and installation to explore caregiver identity, dignity, administrative burden, and dementia care as a public health issue.
Caregiving is both a personal and systems issue. Creative and interdisciplinary approaches can help caregivers, practitioners, and policymakers better understand identity, care, and the need for culture change.
How can community-based programs better support women's empowerment?
Conducted extensive landscape research to inform the development of women's empowerment programming in Bangladesh. Reviewed nonprofit initiatives, public awareness campaigns, entrepreneurship programs, and youth engagement models, translating those findings into four strategic reports and a five-branch program model.
Effective community-based programming brings together education, entrepreneurship, public awareness, and local engagement rather than treating them as separate initiatives.
What can we learn by listening closely to family caregivers?
Designed and conducted an independent qualitative research study with 15 adult daughters caring for parents living with dementia. This exploratory research included in-depth interviews, literature review, and thematic analysis.
The key theme that emerged was that of shared responsibility of care. While daughters felt their siblings were obligated to help, not all did, leaving these caregivers feeling isolated and abandoned.
How can stories help people better understand complex human experiences?
Produced documentaries, public programs, live performances, educational content, and nonprofit media that translated research, lived experience, and complex social issues into work designed for public audiences.
Creative storytelling can make complex ideas more accessible, encourage dialogue, and help people connect with research in meaningful ways.
A few places to start.
Whether you’re developing a new initiative, rethinking an existing one, or exploring a question that doesn’t have an obvious answer, I’d love to hear from you.