My research examines how computer mediated communication and digital technologies shape public policy and social change with an emphasis on nonprofit advocacy and climate change communication. I use qualitative and computational methods to investigate three central questions:
How do nonprofit organizations strategically employ digital communication platforms (e.g., Twitter/X) to frame conversations, construct narratives, move policy, and engage audiences?
What is the relationship between online engagement and offline action? Specifically, how do nonprofit organizations convert digital engagement into real world action?
How can we best integrate "big data" and large-scale data analysis with qualitative insights to understand the complex dynamics of the digital public sphere in the 21st century?
My dissertation, Tweet this Not That: Examining the Interaction of Environmental Nonprofit Organizations' Online and Offline Advocacy Efforts for Climate Change Action, focuses on these three questions.
Nonprofit Advocacy & Management, Digital Communication & Strategy, Computational Social Science, Public Policy & Technology, Climate & Environmental Policy
MacIndoe, H., Beaton, E. E., Manuella Pache de Athayde, M., & Ojelabi, O. (2025, January). Giving Voice: Examining the Tactical Repertoires of Nonprofit Advocacy for Disadvantaged Populations. In Nonprofit Policy Forum (Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 29-53). De Gruyter. [Link]
Granberry, P., Tristán, F. C., Torres-Ardila, F., Vega-Martinez, J., & Pache de Athayde, M. M. (2025). Limitations due to Occupational Credentialing for Immigrants in Massachusetts: Survey Report. [Link]
Vega-Martinez, J., de Athayde, M. M. P., Torres-Ardila, F., & Granberry, P. (2025). Tienen alas, pero no las pueden usar: Stories of immigrants in search of work credentials. [Link]
Pache de Athayde, M.M., & MacIndoe, Heather. "Nodes of Change & Connectedness: An Analysis of Environmental Nonprofits Twitter Behavior About Climate Change".
Pache de Athayde, M.M. "Artificial Language Landscapes: Nonprofit Organizations Use of AI and LLMs for Service Delivery".
Wu, V. C. S., MacIndoe, H., Pache De Athayde, M.M., Lam, S. Y. "Systematic review on foundation grantmaking".
Johnson, Michael, Pache de Athayde, M.M. & Killemsetty, N.. "50 Years of Community Operational Research".
Johnson, Michael, Pache de Athayde, M.M., & Jani, S. “Measuring Success: Community Analytics for Local Economic Development".
Pache de Athayde, M.M. "Uncovering Digital Communication Repertoires: Towards a Typology of Data and Storytelling for Advocacy Nonprofit Organizations in the United States".
Pache de Athayde, M.M. "Use and Adoption of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence by Nonprofit Organizations: A Systematic Review".
Pache de Athayde, M.M. "ESG at a Crossroads: Lessons from Employee Ownership Models for Nonprofit Governance and Risk Management".
Tienen alas, pero no las pueden usar: Stories of immigrants in search of work credentials. Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI). Boston, MA: April 2025.
Nodes of Change & Connectedness: An Analysis of Environmental Nonprofits Twitter Behavior About Climate Change. ARNOVA 52th Annual Conference. Orlando, FL: November 2023.
Giving Voice: Examining the Strategic Repertoires of Nonprofit Advocacy for Marginalized Populations. ARNOVA 50th Annual Conference. Atlanta, GA: November, 2021.
Tweeting On Behalf of the Environment: Sentiment Analysis as a Way to Understand Nonprofit Communication. International Society for Third-Sector Research: July 2021.
Potential Applications Of Community-Based Operations Research For Climate Change In The United States. INFORMS Annual Conference, Seattle, WA: October 2019.
Giving Voice: Examining the Strategic Repertoires Of Nonprofit Advocacy for Marginalized Populations. Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Conference, New York, New York: August 2019.
“They have wings, but they cannot use them,” Immigrant Professionals in Massachusetts. The Boston Foundation. Boston, MA: June 2025. [Video]
Approaching Your Dissertation Strategically In An Era of Uncertainty, Dissertation Workshop, Instructor: Dr. Mark Warren - Department of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Boston, MA: November 18, 2024.
Twitter as Data: Twitter and API applications for Social Scientists, Dissertation Seminar, Instructor: Dr.Amy Smith - Department of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Boston, MA: November 2020.
Qualitative Methods in Decision Modeling. Research Methods II, Instructor: Dr. Michael Johnson - Department of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Boston, MA: April 15, 2020.
Director’s Office Student Success (DOSS) Travel Grant, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2023
Doctoral Fellowship Program, Association for Research on Nonprofits and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), 2023
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences, 2021
Don Lavoie Fellowship, George Mason University, 2021
Global South Scholars: Resilience Scholar Fellowship, Essex Summer School, 2020
Civic Action Project Fellowship, 2020
Future Leaders Climate Summit, Aspen Institute, 2020
Lee Student Support Fund, The Society for the Study of Social Problems, 2019
Pi Alpha Alpha Public Administration Honor Society, 2017
William K. Reilly Fellowship, American University, 2016
Hall of Nations Scholarship, American University, 2015, 2016, 2017
Eliane Conde Scholarship, Mount Holyoke College, 2010