Brian Tracey

brian tracey

Political Ecologist and Eclectic Educator

about brian

Brian Tracey is the High School Coordinator at Seattle MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement), a program through the University of Washington. He recently graduated from UW with his Master’s Degree in Marine and Environmental Policy. When Brian was a kid in Brooklyn, NY, he loved watching Bill Nye the Science Guy--this is how he originally got interested in science. Bill Nye made science look so fun and interesting! He also loved the Discovery Channel, and when he saw Shark Week for the first time, he was hooked on Marine Science for good. He went to college at Rutgers University in New Jersey where he studied Marine Science. He’s done marine and environmental science research all over the place--from upstate New York to the westernmost reaches of the US. In his spare time, he’s an urban ninja, a scholar in multiple disciplines, and a mentor to Black youth.

What does Brian study?

Brian is very interested in science education outreach, particularly to underserved minority communities. He sits on the Steering Committee for the Brotherhood Initiative at UW, and is a member of a few different diversity committees across campus. Brian’s research focused on the lack of ethnic and gender diversity in science and technology careers, particularly in marine science.

How did he know he wanted to be a scientist?

"I knew science was for me at an early age, probably around 7 or 8 years old. I have always been a critical thinker. I was fortunate to have socially conscious Black men and women as early mentors, and when I discovered how fun science could be through Bill Nye, I was hooked. Science is about using data to solve problems. I am a problem solver."

Brian leading two Seattle MESA teachers through a brainstorming session for a hands-on activity.

Image courtesy of Brian Tracey

Brian on a habitat restoration field trip with middle schoolers from Tukwila School District.

Image courtesy of Brian Tracey

What does he love about his job?

"My favorite part of my job is the students. Knowing that I'm exposing them to a world of possibilities they may not have imagined for themselves is rewarding. Additionally, I enjoy the challenge of elevating their STEM, social and global consciousness in a fun and engaging way."

Brian's research

Brian is interested in understanding who studies science, and factors that might encourage or discourage groups of people from studying science or becoming scientists. Brian’s thesis investigated how social capital impacts under-represented minority students in graduate-level Marine Science programs at the University of Washington, specifically at the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. In this context, social capital refers to the social connections and networks a person or group of people have with peers (other graduate students), faculty (their teachers), or administration (the decision-makers at the University). Under-represented minorities (URM) in the sciences include people that identify as black/African-American, Latinos/Hispanics, and American Indians, Pacific Islanders, Native Alaskans, and Hawaiians.

Having more social capital (having strong relationships with peers and faculty) can make succeeding in a graduate program easier for anyone. In certain branches of the sciences, like marine science, URM students can have less social capital because there are fewer of their peers and they can be more susceptible to stereotypes, stigmas, or biases about their group. This makes enrolling in those programs less appealing and succeeding in them harder for many URM students. Brian wants to know what strategies work to recruit URM students to marine science programs so that he can make a list of recommendations to faculty and administrators on how to bolster enrollment of these groups in these programs.

These two infographics show the representation of different groups in all STEM occupations (not just marine science), relative to their representation in the U.S. population. Something important to note in the infographic on the left is that "Other men and women" includes American Indians, Pacific Islanders, Native Alaskans, and Hawaiians. Using the term "Other" for these groups of people can feel like an erasure or oversimplification of their identities.

Images courtesy of the National Science Foundation

Beyond getting URM students to enroll in programs, Brian argues that it is important for professors to be culturally competent (to be aware and understanding of cultural differences within and between groups) so that they can be more effective when working with students from diverse backgrounds. Having diverse students in graduate science programs is important because if certain types of people are not represented in those fields, their voices are much less likely to be heard in the scientific community. The more kinds of people we have involved in science, the more likely it is that scientific research and policymaking benefits everyone.

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