Our Founding
The story of Camino Research Institute begins with Dr. Keri Revens. While studying for her PhD in Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Revens volunteered and conducted research with Camino to better understand effective approaches in serving Latino immigrant communities. Following the principles of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), Dr. Revens worked with Camino to identify relevant research projects. After graduating with her doctorate, Dr. Revens then became Camino's Director of the Department of Research & Evaluation to strengthen the nonprofit's data-driven approach.
From Department to Institute
While originally established to primarily evaluate Camino's various programs and services for internal reporting, the department started undertaking original research projects in response to the lack of data available on Latino communities in Charlotte as well as North Carolina. In 2021, under the moniker of the Department of Research & Evaluation, Dr. Revens led a groundbreaking mixed-methods rapid appraisal study to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latino communities living in and around Charlotte.
The success of the project inspired Dr. Revens to transform the Department of Research & Evaluation into a research institute that is intentionally dedicated in utilizing CBPR approaches in generating new research with Latino communities. On June 15th, 2021, Dr. Revens, along with her team, Lennin Caro and Sarai Ordonez, founded Camino Research Institute.
Earlier drafts and versions of Camino Research Institute’s logo. The motif of the tree and sprout was selected to reflect our commitment and dedication to serving and uplifting Latino communities through research and data.
Building a Latino Needs Assessment
This first major project conducted by CRI was the North Carolina Latino Strengths & Needs Assessment Project (NCLSNA). Following CBPR principles, the project was collaboratively developed with other Latino leaders, including community health workers, journalists, teachers, social workers, counselors, and health professionals in the Charlotte area. To pilot this project, CRI focused on the Latino communities within Mecklenburg County. By September 2022, the Mecklenburg County Latino Community Strengths & Needs Assessment report was released. Due to its success, CRI took the project statewide.
Going Statewide
To build trust, the CRI team traveled across the state, participating in events and festivals to get to know the different Latino communities across North Carolina. Collaborating with Latino community leaders, nonprofits, and grassroots organizations from the mountains of Western NC to the coastal plains of Eastern NC, over 3,000 surveys and nearly 50 interviews were collected from Latinos living across the state. A report of the findings was released in September 2025.