Diversity and Inclusion Work

I believe that inclusive practices allow everyone to succeed in class or in to lab. As an instructor and research supervisor, I particularly focus my inclusive practices on the needs of minority students such as women, under-represented people of color, first-generation college students, LGBTQ students, students with disabilities, and anyone else who may face challenges in obtaining an engineering degree. I've served both formally and informally, on both personal and institutional levels, as part of programs that have supported equitable, diverse, and inclusive engineering environments.

I actively recruit and retain minority and under-represented students in my teams. My research teams have the following proportion of students who consider themselves under-represented in engineering. I ask students to self-identify, as opposed to tallying according to gender or ethnicity/racial background; however, practically speaking, these numbers are a count of women and under-represented people of color.

Graduate Students: 8/15 = (53%)

Undergraduate Students: 12/17 = (70%)

Total: 20/32 = (62%)

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My Statement on Diversity and Inclusion, attached on this page, highlights some of my other work in detail. My C.V. also has more details on my service positions.

A brief outline of my work:

• Faculty/Staff Advisor for Carnegie Mellon University's chapter of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM), an international organization for LGBTQ science and engineering students.

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Committee (DISC.) I re-wrote diversity policies to explicitly protect disability, gender identity, and expression. My re-writes here, particularly section VI.E.

• UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering Department: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDI). Organizing, policy, programs, outreach. I've also served on graduate student committees for faculty searches.

• Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM.) I was the first elected president of oSTEM's student chapter at the University of Maryland, and led the national organization's Chapter Handbook project from 2012-2014.