Equity

I was a member of the Duke Biology Department’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism (IDEA) Graduate Committee throughout my graduate school career and I served as the committee's chair from 2020-2021. As a member of this group, I helped organize events aimed at increasing the diversity and inclusion of the department. Events I’ve been involved in include pride (LGBTQIA+) training, implicit bias education, inclusive teaching discussions, safe spaces for marginalized members of the department, and anti-racism discussion groups for the whole department. As the chair of the committee, I helped the group manage our work- and emotional- load. Since a lot of the members of the committee do this work for their own survival it was important to encourage self-care and balance within the committee. Also, as chair, I served as the liaison between the committee and departmental and broader Duke leadership. This taught me about the politics that go into making real change in terms of diversity and inclusion at academic institutions. Most importantly, serving on this committee with such a diverse member base has broadened my perspectives and identify my own “blind spots” when it comes to diversity and inclusion. I have begun reading and engaging in self-reflection to combat my implicit biases. 

For more information on our work check out our website: https://sites.duke.edu/biodiversity/. 

I participate in multiple initiatives all aimed at increasing the participation and inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM. I have participated in the diversity panel for the group GALS (Girls on outdoor Adventure for Leadership and Science) in which I talked to high school girls from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM about diversity in STEM and my personal path in STEM. For 3 years, my lab and I participated in FEMMES (Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and Science). As part of their capstone day, I planned and led an activity with my lab aimed at teaching young girls (4th-6th graders) interested in STEM about plant phenology and how it will be affected by climate change. Through Project Seed I mentored an underrepresented high school student through a research project aimed at investigating the linkage between dormancy loci and drought/cold tolerance loci.. In addition, I participated in the Letters to a Pre-Scientist program through which I wrote letters to two underrepresented 6th graders about my research career. It was truly a pleasure connecting with my pen pals and figuring out how to share my science with them in a way that made it clear and relatable. I'm looking forward to being able to expand my outreach efforts as my career progresses.