Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair
Platform for Kadambari Devarajan:
I am a second year PhD student in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) graduate program with a background in computer science. As an international student with a background in both science and engineering as well as experience working in cross-cultural teams, I hope to make a difference in fostering a diverse and more inclusive academic climate. As a cancer survivor who had to take a break during my MSc degree, I am comfortable talking about women’s health, and helping address any concerns graduate women have about unforeseen or planned interruptions in their work. If elected as Diversity and Inclusion committee chair at GWIS, my aim is to develop a diverse, welcoming, and supportive culture, climate, and community. I propose doing this through liaisons with other campus groups whose missions align with GWIS, and taking a proactive and collaborative role in fostering an open and inclusive environment. I hope to encourage strong peer support networks, and work with other GWIS committees in fostering a safe, open, and collaborative atmosphere for women in STEM. I will use this opportunity to help create an attitude of respect and dignity at the workplace.
Platform for Gayathri Kopanati & Uma Nudurupati:
Gayathri is a fourth year Polymer Science and Engineering (PSE) graduate student. She was an active volunteer of the mentoring committee of GWIS and is also a fundraiser for a group named Change in India. Uma is a fourth-year graduate student from Chemistry, who in addition to science actively volunteers for outreach with GWIS and PSE Department.
If we are given this opportunity, we will continue to conduct the current activities (movie nights and workshops) of the Diversity and Inclusion committee with full fervor. Supplementing these activities with opportunities to build a sense of belonging and a safe space within the community is our focus.
We would like to create a social space for the GWIS community outside of our labs and research groups to strengthen our camaraderie. Communal activities like a movie night, board game night, and local hikes are on the top of our list. Opportunities to improve individual interactions within the community through craft workshops and cook offs are on our radar. We intend to liaison with committees within and outside of the GWIS (crafts center at Student’s union, Stonewall Center, the Graduate Students of Colour, and Office of Professional Development) to create these opportunities. Additionally and critically, we would strive to create a safe space to foster conversations around challenges faced by marginalized members of the community via targeted professional development workshops and panel discussions. These workshops and discussions would focus on navigating our already challenging workspaces, and work-life balance to flourish in the academic ecosystem. We are open to additional suggestions from the GWIS community.
Finance and Administration Committee Chair
Platform for Daria Atkinson & Annie McGrew:
As finance chairs, we hope to increase the participation of the membership in finance activities, providing opportunities for GWIS members to become more closely involved in the day to day management of the organization, and offering professional development opportunities in the form of grant searches, which will help diversify our funding base. As representatives of a democratic, grad student run, community centered organization, we strongly believe that GWIS should be an advocate and home for grad students from diverse backgrounds and in diverse fields, and we hope that this dedication will extend not just to the broader mission of the organization but to the specific role of the finance committee. As finance co-chairs, we understand that our role underpins much of the broader work that GWIS is able to do, and pledge to remain responsible stewards of the organization’s finances.
Outreach Committee Chair
Platform for Hannah Johlas & Fiona O’Donnell:
Hannah is a 3rd year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering and a current outreach committee co-chair. Fiona is a 3rd year PhD student in Civil Engineering and an active member of the outreach committee. Our platform is focused on engaging kids of various ages in STEM activities, with an emphasis on getting young girls interested in STEM while serving as role models of successful women in STEM fields.
If elected, we will continue the popular Sound Bites Cafes series, where graduate students talk to middle schoolers about their research most Fridays. We will also continue to host Girl Scout workshops, where grade school or middle school girls come to UMass to earn a STEM-related badge. We hope to expand this series by creating programming for new badges as well. We are also looking to host a new STEM workshop for high school girls, with the theme and activities determined by committee member interest (e.g. water resources, renewable energy, etc). Finally, we hope to collaborate with other GWIS committees, especially mentoring, on hosting events for undergraduate women.
Overall, we plan to continue the successful GWIS outreach programs of previous years, while also expanding our programming to new topics and new audiences. However, we are open to suggestions from the GWIS body and will closely work with outreach committee members to ensure that our programming reflects their interests, while still meeting our goal of engaging younger students in STEM activities.
Platform for Alina Valdez:
At its core, my platform is to meet young women wherever they are at in their scientific
journey, with a heavy emphasis on underrepresented groups. I intend to continue the ‘Coffee
Talks’ program, and possibly broaden it to host interactive problem-solving lessons where young
women can engage critically in problems such as water storage and conservation, renewable
sources of energy, and climate change. Most importantly, this will create a space which
normalizes young women’s critical engagement of these issues and prepares them to carry this
conversation forward into the new generation.
With the help of our public libraries here in Amherst, I also intend to create a women’s scientific
reading group. It can be for several age groups or one (depending on interest), with each group
given unique educationally appropriate critical scientific literature. It will meet one a week and
provide a space for young women to feel comfortable discussing ideas relating to the material or
questions they may have, and their own scientific interests.
Communications Committee Chair
Platform for Paige Czarnecki:
As the GWIS community, we are a body of fierce communicators, presenting a strong and cohesive organizational message, while also projecting each of our unique and beautiful voices. As communications chair, I will help to build strong relationships between GWIS leadership and general membership, as well as between GWIS and the community at large. I plan to achieve this by providing creative avenues for member engagement and energized discourse, especially through our current publication, GWIS Quarterly Magazine (GQM). This platform is for our members to unapologetically tell their stories and address issues they are facing.
Mentoring Committee Chair
Platform for Xuyen Mai & Merritt Harlan:
We believe that mentoring can be as simple as just sharing personal experiences. Our goal is to foster a safe, and collaborative space for women in science and engineering to flourish as both mentors and mentees to each other.
As new co-chairs to the mentoring committee for the academic year of 2019-2020, we hope to maintain our high committee membership and strong peer-to-peer support network through committee events like Friendsgiving and Galentine’s Day. We want to build off the success of previous years in mentoring and continue providing support for women in STEM.
We also want to expand on our faculty/postdocs/grad mentoring opportunities and undergrad mentoring not only through informal social gatherings but also through workshops and career training collaboration with career centers, GSS and graduate school programs.
