Advocacy

Advocacy is an important part of my life work. Specifically, I am passionate about broadening the participation and success of racialized and minoritized groups in STEM education and careers. I also fight for environmental and climate justice.

No Time for Silence

In the summer of 2020, I led an effort among a diverse group of geoscientists to call attention to racism throughout the scientific community. We wrote a call to action challenging scientists to do better, with specific suggestions for how to do so. Over 40 organizations and 1,500 individuals endorsed the letter.

This letter has inspired conversations at and within federal science-mission agencies. In many cases these conversations in turn led to the creation of new equity-centric programs and activities that open new pathways for participation in the scientific enterprise by previously excluded groups. The letter has also contributed to similar conversations in the academic community, in which our group of letter-writer has participated through numerous invited talks and workshops. And, elements of the suggested actions listed in our letter have been incorporated into professional society diversity statements and action plans.

Our call to action has been recognized by the American Geophysical Union through the 2020 Presidential Citation for Science and Society. It has also been publicized in articles published in Science, Bloomberg News, Nexus Media News, and the American Geophysical Union’s From the Prow.

Other talks:

“What is and Isn’t Working in Diversity Efforts: Time for A Change.” Hosted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.