Outreach & Engagement

I am broadly interested in improving DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) in science and academia. To this end, I have worked with organizations to develop community-focused, peer-based support systems and with institutions to develop strategies and initiatives to support marginalized students. Much of my work focuses on building support networks in order to build community, visibility, and institutional knowledge, as well as to best understand and advocate for the specific needs of a community. 

Regular Engagements

Welfare Team Manager, Toshima International Hall of Residence B (2024-Present)

Toshima International Hall of Residence B is a student residence managed by the University of Tokyo.  I was elected to the Welfare Team at the start of 2024 to manage welfare in the dormitory.  In particular, I was in charge of managing volunteers for weekly cleanings of common spaces and bathrooms, tracking participation at cleanings, and managing inventory of cleaning supplies.

Patient Experience Advisor, Women's College Hospital (2022-2024)

I volunteered as a Patient Experience Advisor for Women's College Hospital (WCH) Transition Related Surgery (TRS) Program to provide feedback to WCH and TRS admin, engage with media to discuss patient experience, and consult with researchers studying TRS.

Through this program, I was connected to Dr. Jess Prodger at the University of Western Ontario Department of Microbiology and Immunology to collaborate on her project TransBiota, examining gynecological outcomes (incl. vaginal microbiota, post-surgical outcomes, vaginal health behaviours and concerns) for transmasculine people on testosterone and transfeminine people after vaginoplasty.  

Communications & Outreach Officer, QueerSphere Grad Chapter (2022-2023)

QueerSphere Grad is the graduate chapter of Engiqueers, a national organization dedicated to improving the lives of queer and trans students in STEM. We specifically focused on graduate students across STEM disciplines, including professional and research-based programs.

I acted as the first point of contact for all students to engage with our club leadership. In this capacity, I liaised between club membership and executives, promoted our events, advertised our club to the broader university, and worked alongside other executives to organize and execute events.

Some successful initiatives include: annual mentorship evening where 15 graduate students engage with dozens of undergraduates to build community, network, and answer questions, monthly queer bookclub, annual queer trivia night (as part of Queer Orientation), graduate student mental health panel, and biweekly social events including lunches and board games nights.

Undergraduate Representative, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Students Association (EGSA) (2021-2023)

I represented the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Undergraduate Union (EEBU) to the EGSA executive team as well as the EGSA to the EEBU executive team. This included facilitating communication between graduate and undergraduate students, ensuring both graduate and undergraduate student needs and wants were met, and engaging with the Department on behalf of EEBU

Successful events include: biweekly graduate student seminar series for two years, coordinating merch development and purchase between EGSA and EEBU, and development of a Central Opportunities Database for use by PIs and grad students to advertise lab opportunities to undergraduates

Committee Member, Accessibility Services Student Advisory Committee (2021-2023)

I worked alongside other committee members and the University of Toronto’s Accessibility Services to improve accessibility of the University in terms of programming and supports for students, staff, and faculty

Some achievements include: developing guidelines for instructors in writing course documents, creating peer support groups for students with visual, mobility, or mental health disabilities, expanding graduate student programming, and writing a Graduate Student Handbook for disabled graduate students

One-Off Events

Judge, Summer Research Day, Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga (10 August 2023)

Along with two other judges, I evaluated 8 oral talks delivered by undergraduate summer researchers for their novelty, ingenuity, communication ability, and scientific rigor, as well as responses to judge and audience questions.  

Panelist, Women's College Hospital/Women's College Hospital Foundation Annual General Meeting (21 June 2023)

Alongside 6 other panelists, I discussed the ways in which Women's College Hospital is creating safe places in medicine and opportunities for improvement.  I specifically discussed the Transition-Related Surgeries program from a patient perspective.

Judge, Peel Region Science Fair (14-15 April 2023)

Alongside a team of judges, I graded secondary school students' science and engineering poster based on ingenuity, novelty, design, and communication of the poster and the student's responses to questions.

Panelist, 2SLGBTQIA+ In STEM: Challenges and Opportunities, Graduate Professional Development Day (23 March 2023)

Alongside two other panelists, I discussed the successes, failures, challenges, and barriers to building diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in research and education in STEM.

Research Exploration Opportunity, UTM STEM Fellowship (13-14 March 2023)

I worked alongside another graduate student in the lab to instruct high school students to perform a plant infection assay and briefly analyze the results.