The #DivSch21 virtual conference occurred August 12-14. We brought together a diverse group of postdocs and doctoral graduate students for professional development and networking.
Info about: Agenda | Logistics | Sponsorships | Registration
Past events: 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017
Speakers & Facilitators
Plenary Speaker Danielle N. Lee, PhD
#BLACKandSTEM Ecologies and Evolution: History and Future Trajectories of Online STEM Diversity Community, Engagement, and Advocacy
Conversation to be moderated by Dr Raven Baxter!
Plenary speaker Danielle N. Lee is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Dr. Lee is an outreach scientist who studies animal behavior and behavioral ecology. Dr. Lee currently studies the behavioral biology and natural history of nuisance rodents across urban gradients. Her research includes examining individual behavior variation of mice and rats in the Metro St. Louis area and the natural history of African giant pouched rats. Her research and science outreach and advocacy have been recognized by The Explorers Club (2021), National Geographic Society (2017 Emerging Explorer), TED Fellows Program (2015), Essence Magazine Woke 100 (2019), EBONY Magazine’s Power 100 (2014), and the White House Champions of Change in STEM Diversity and Access (2014). Follow her and her science adventures on Twitter or Instagram at @DNLee5.
Plenary Speaker Lisette E. Torres-Gerald, PhD
Diverse Networks, Numbers, and Narratives in Science Communication
Conversation to be moderated by Stephanie Castillo!
Plenary speaker Lisette E. Torres-Gerald (she/her/ella) is Senior Research Associate and Program Coordinator at TERC -- a research-based non-profit dedicated to inspiring and engaging learners. She is a trained scientist and disabled scholar-activist whose expertise includes race, gender, and disability in STEM and higher education; critical theoretical frameworks and qualitative methodologies; workshop and curriculum design; and writing pedagogy. She has a doctorate with a Certificate in Social Justice from the School of Education at Iowa State University and a M.S. in Zoology with a Certificate in Ecology from Miami University. Her doctoral thesis was "Speaking truth to power and to the people: Scientist bloggers of color as public intellectuals." She is interested in how power and privilege influence the social dynamics of the scientific community as well as the experiences of women of color in science. She is the Director of Justice and Disability in STEM for the Equity Institute for Race Conscious Pedagogy. Torres-Gerald is also a co-founder and executive board member of the National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities (CNLD) and an advisory board member of Science Friday’s Breakthrough Dialogues Program.
Alberto Roca, PhD, Conference Chair
Executive Director; DiverseScholar
Nancy Aguilar-Roca, PhD
Associate Professor of Teaching, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of California, Irvine
Adriana Bankston, PhD
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Publisher
Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG)
Raven Baxter, PhD
Director of Diversity Initiatives; Biological Sciences
University of California, Irvine
#BlackInSciComm; @RavenSciMaven
Stephanie Castillo
Graduate Research Assistant in Science Communication in Chemistry
Vanderbilt University
Founder, PhutureDoctors
Aimee Edinger, VMD, PhD
Professor, Developmental & Cell Biology
University of California, Irvine
Stacey Glasgow, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
University of California, San Diego
Edward Krug, PhD
Assoc. Dean for Postdoc Affairs (retired)
Medical University of South Carolina
Board of Advisors, DiverseScholar
Danielle N. Lee, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Bill Lindstaedt, MS
Asst. Vice Chancellor; Career Advancement, International & Postdoctoral Services
University of California, San Francisco
Victoria McDonnell, DrPH
former Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and Development
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Roland Owens, PhD
Nat. Inst. Health
Assistant Director, Office of Intramural Research
National Institutes of Health
Harinder Singh, PhD
Program Director, Graduate Professional Success in STEM (GPS-STEM)
University of California, Irvine
Robin Sugiura, PhD
Director of Postdoctoral Training, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Stanford University
Lisette E. Torres-Gerald, PhD
Senior Research Associate and Program Coordinator
TERC
Agenda
All attendees, speakers, sponsors, staff, and volunteers at our event are required to comply with this Code of Conduct.
For security, links to online sessions below use either passwords, wait rooms, or pre-registration. For access info, registered attendees have been notified by email. Also, see the pinned message in the #conf-divsch21 channel of our private Slack group.
Thursday August 12
| Time (a) | Session | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 10-11:30am | Welcome & Attendee Introductions (b) | Roca |
| 12-1:30pm | Postdoc Fundamentals & Mentor Management | McDonnell & Sugiura |
| 2-3:30pm | Academic Faculty Careers | Aguilar-Roca, Owens (NIH), & Edinger (UCI) |
| 2-3:30pm | Industry Careers | Lindstaedt |
Friday August 13
| Time (a) | Session | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 10-11:30am | Research Chalk Talks (preview) | Glasgow & Krug |
| 12-1:30pm | #BLACKandSTEM Ecologies and Evolution (b) | Lee & Baxter |
| 12-3pm | 1-on-1 appointments: drop-ins (b, c) | Krug |
| 2-3:30pm | Preparing Your CV | Lindstaedt |
| 2-3:30pm | Policy & Administrative Careers | Singh & Bankston |
Saturday August 14
| Time (a) | Session | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 10am-3pm | 1-on-1 appointments (b, c) | Lindstaedt |
| 10am-3pm | 1-on-1 appointments (b, c) | Krug |
| 10am-12pm | 1-on-1 appointments: drop-ins (b, c) | Sugiura @ Stanford |
| 12-1:30pm | Diverse Networks, Numbers, & Narratives in SciComm (b) | Torres-Gerald & Castillo |
Notes:
a) All times are Pacific time zone.
b) Best to use Firefox browser. If using Chrome, please update to latest version since video bug fixed in late July.
c) Registered attendees should check your email for sign-up instructions. Each appointment is 25 minutes long with a 5 min speaker break so meetings should start every half hour.
"Drop-in" meetings also available on first-come, first-serve basis (especially Friday) so attempt to join counselor's table if their 1-on-1 huddle is unlocked.
Logistics
When: August 12 to 14, 2021
How: online! Registered participants will receive instructions by email. The virtual event will use Zoom, Crowdcast, and Gatherly tools. Best to use the Firefox browser for the latter two services.
Registration for the Public
The plenary talks are open to the public. Please register for the seminars at each talk's webpage using the "Save my spot!" button for Dr. Lee on #BLACKandSTEM and Dr. Torres-Gerald on Diverse Networks.
Registration for Postdocs and PhD Graduate Students
The non-plenary sessions are limited to PhD trainees drawn from existing members of the following:
- DiverseScholar Doctoral Directory: instructions in spring/summer email newsletters
- MinorityPostdoc email list: instructions to join Doctoral Directory in spring/summer newsletters
- Special Partners: Stanford PDO, UC-Irvine GPS-STEM, and Research University Alliance
Registration deadline (extended): Tuesday August 10
Sponsors and Partners
University of California, Irvine School of Biological Sciences
Stanford University Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
University of California, Irvine GPS-STEM
Sponsorship and Exhibitor Rates (d)
Contact us to arrange your sponsorship!
| Sponsorship Level: | - | One | Two | Three | Four | Five |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost: | $100 | $250 | $300 | $1K | $2.5K | $5K |
| Registrations (#) | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Listing: Event webpage | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Recognition @ welcome | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y |
| 1-year advertisement | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y |
| Candidate database- Platinum | - | - | - | - | Y | Y |
| Candidate db w/CVs- Diamond | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
Notes:
d) Sponsorship benefits subject to change without notice. At Level 3 and higher, there is no discounted conference sponsorship since the event is virtual. This is because those sponsorships are also tied to Institutional Subscriptions, e.g. Level 3 sponsorship is equivalent to a Gold Subscription, and includes advertisements on the MinorityPostdoc website as well as access to the Doctoral Directory CV database.
In event of cancellation by July 23, a full refund less a 5% processing fee will be issued. No refunds will be made for cancellations after that date.
Photo credits:
- Lee: TED
- Torres-Gerald: Torres-Gerald