Sarah Rios’ research agenda focuses on advancing the study of race, health, and the environment. Rios is interested in the health implications of industrial agriculture and carceral expansion in rural communities of California. Rios is an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rios’ ongoing research includes an environmental illness known as Valley Fever that is endemic in the Central Valley of California. Through a discussion about the racialized social determinants of health, Rios analyzes how farm workers and former prisoners, contract and recover from Valley Fever while also mitigating poverty, pollution, and the threats of incarceration or deportation. Rios is originally from the Salinas Valley of California.