Bruce Birren, PhD, is an Institute Scientist at the Broad Institute and Director of the Broad’s Genomic Center for Infectious Diseases. In 2003 Bruce founded the Broad’s Diversity Initiative and its still-running summer undergraduate research program. He facilitates workshops for faculty and trainees to increase the effectiveness of research mentoring relationships. Bruce also designs and leads workshops and longer-term interventions to help organizations promote a culture of belonging and inclusion. He worked with the Scientific Mentorship Initiative of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, co-directs the Center for Mentorship Excellence at Harvard Medical School, and served as part of the core facilitation team for Angela Byars-Winston’s NRMN-funded, randomized, controlled trial of a Culturally Aware Mentoring workshop.

Bruce and his wife met in graduate school, and are thrilled that their two adult married children and two grandchildren live nearby. Bruce’s chief hobbies are adding items to lists of things he hasn’t yet acknowledged he won’t do, and buying books that he can’t admit he won’t read. In 2019 he participated in the Social Justice Training Institute, holds a certificate in Social Justice Mediation and is enrolled in a professional coach training program.

Sonia Zárate, is Senior Program Lead at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She leads  scientific mentorship and professional development initiatives in service of fostering inclusive scientific research cultures. Prior to her tenure at HHMI, she was the Director for the Office of Undergraduate Research at the University of San Diego and the Associate Director for the Undergraduate Research Center-Sciences at UCLA. A longstanding SACNISTA, Sonia has given back to the organization by serving as President (2018-2021), currently chairs SACNAS’ Public Policy advisory group and co-facilitates their leadership institutes for postdocs, early- and mid-career scientists. Sonia has been a Principal Facilitator for the NRMN and CIMER since 2014. Sonia received her PhD in plant molecular biology and did her postdoctoral work in chemical ecology. She is currently pursuing a master’s in public interest law at UCLA School of Law.

Sonia is a Chicana from Los Angeles and is part of a coven made up of her daughter Savannah and three granddaughters, Naomi, Mila, and Drew. Her son Alex, a recent graduate of Cal State Los Angeles, balances out the group. The family are die-hard Dodger fans and crazy eights aficionados.