Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Biological science education, careers, and opportunities are not accessible equally. Historically underserved groups and those targeted for oppression are underrepresented in academic institutions and in workplaces where biologists are employed. Efforts to increase diversity in science are crucial to dissolving barriers to science positions.
My mother was a single mom and 17 years old when I was born. She sacrificed her ability to attend college to financial support and raise me. Unfortunately, raising a family and attending college and graduate school are often incompatible. This inaccessibility of graduate school to parents disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic women. A study by Sweeney and Raley (2014) examined the relationship between motherhood and college education and found that for White women, 14% report having a child before the age of 20 while this number is 33% for Black women and 30% for Hispanic women. Finally, Sweeney and Raley (2014) found that only 25.5% of single mothers have completed bachelor's degrees while 74.5% of married mothers have completed bachelor's degrees. Given that only 37% of adults with bachelor's degrees also hold advanced degrees (Baum and Steele 2017), it is evident that single mothers, especially from minority groups, are underrepresented in graduate programs.
The programs listed on this page are efforts I have created and participated in. The goal of these programs has been to provide mentorship and resources to first-generation and underrepresented students and to bring awareness to the difficulties of balancing personal lives, family, and parenthood with careers in science.
Equitable, Inclusive, Culturally Aware Field Work
I believe that as a field work biologist it is important to take active steps to avoid parachute science, which takes advantage of the resources and knowledge of a host community for western science. However, training on how to create an ethical, culturally aware, and inclusive field season is not commonly avaialable accross universities. I created a workshop that covers establishing connections to members of a diverse field work team, inclusive training practices, how to become culturally educated, ways to protect the needs, conserns, and wants of a host community, involving the general public in science, compensating and supporting your team, local scientists, and the community, and delivering scientific results in diverse ways. I was awarded a UC Davis, College of Biological Sciences DEIJ Leader Fellowship for the creation of this workshop and a DEIJ Initiative Fund to compensate workshop speakers.
Ecology and Evolution Grad School Preview Program
The E&E grad school preview program was designed by the student diversity committee of the Population Biology Graduate Group at UC Davis to provide resources, guidance, and fee waivers to students who are interested in grad school but lack mentorship. The majority of our participants are from historically underrepresented groups, as a primary aim of our program is to increase diversity in ecology and evolution grad school programs nationwide. We have hosted 165 participants thus far. The preview consists of 5 weeks of virtual sessions covering topics related to applying, finding the right school and lab, and being successful in grad school. We acknowledge that financial burden is the most significant barrier to applying to grad school for most of our participants. While our informational sessions are a passive effort to increase diversity, we strive to take an active role in breaking down obstacles. In 2023 I served as the programs chair. In 2020-2022 I served as a facilitator, mentor, and treasurer for this program and have fundraised $3000 to provide fee waivers for our participants. Please click the image below to be routed to the website for our program, where you can apply to participate, watch recordings of our sessions, and read feedback from previous year participants.
Family Life in Aquatic Sciences
I created this workshop for graduate students to get mentorship and advice about starting and maintaining family life while navigating careers in science. In the workshop, we compiled resources for student parents, and particularly pregnant and single parents. Click the image below for more information.
Committee Positions
My positions on committees often are the medium for my ability to create and be involved in D.E.I. efforts.
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I am the student representative on the admissions committee for the U.C.D. Population Biology graduate group. I work to ensure inclusive and equitable selection criteria when filtering applications. It is important to me that applicants are evaluated for their accomplishments in light of their access to opportunities. I am also responsible for managing student involvement in our recruitment events.
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I have served as the curriculum committee student representative for Population Biology in previous years. My role was to help students navigate communications with faculty and advocate for fair teaching/learning practices during transitions between virtual and in-person courses.
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I am the professional development coordinator on the U.C.D. Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute Graduate Student Affairs Committee. For this position, I strive to provide opportunities for grad students to build their skillsets in preparation for job applications. In addition, this position allowed me to develop the Family Life in Aquatic Sciences Workshop.
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My work on the E&E Grad preview program is connected with my involvement in the Student Diversity Committee of the Population Biology Grad Group.
