Meet the 2024 JEDI Champions

Fostering community for everyone in a department is very important to me. This type of growth can be challenging for postdoctoral scholars, who have diverse backgrounds, timelines, and goals. I started the Bioengineering Postdoc Chalk Talk series to build a better sense of belonging and inclusion for all postdocs in the department and to facilitate practice for a difficult part of academic job searches, the chalk talk, which may also help build equity in preparing for this career transition. I am proud that the first event in December 2023 was successful, with around 20 postdocs and one faculty member attending.

I have long been motivated to improve the lives of young people managing health conditions. As I have been taught and invested in by mentors and peers, I have come to understand that advancements in science and healthcare without consideration for equity often have the unintended consequence of harming some while helping others and that this pattern systematically leaves people behind. The longer I seek answers to the challenges I wish to alleviate, the more I am left looking at the systems of inequity that must be the goal of our collective work if we want to see meaningful change.

I think DEI work is part of our purview as academic researchers. Outreach, mentoring, and supporting each other are just a few of the roles we play as part of our scientific communities. Every single one of us got to where we are today through the help of our entire community with the support and resources extended to us. We continue to benefit through conferences, collaborations, reference writers, friendly recommendations, etc. We should pay it forward. This community that we benefit from should be accessible to everyone, no matter their creed or color. I like to work towards that.

As a first-generation Latinx student, I cherish the opportunities higher education and scientific research have provided me. Research has broadened my perspective, showing me how people from diverse backgrounds collaborate to tackle global challenges. At the Stanford Microfluidics Foundry, I’m passionate about offering underrepresented minority students their first research opportunities and the support they need to succeed. My goal is to ensure science captures crucial perspectives and that talented students don’t go unnoticed due to lack of access or connections. This way, groundbreaking discoveries won’t be missed simply because the right minds weren’t in the room where they belonged.

My passion for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion stems from my own experiences and the recognition that everyone deserves equal opportunities to thrive. Through initiatives like Paths (https://bit.ly/paadhai) for first-generation students and ChaiTime for cultural exchange, I strive to create inclusive spaces that empower diverse voices. My public health advocacy work, especially during the pandemic, reinforced the critical importance of addressing social determinants of health and improving healthcare access for underserved communities. What drives me is the belief that small, consistent efforts can create ripples of positive change. By fostering connections, sharing knowledge, and promoting understanding, we can build a more equitable and inclusive world for all.

Growing up, my family fostered children with physical and intellectual disabilities, making me cognizant of the inequities that exist between the preconceived labels of “abled” and “disabled” at an early age. These same values serve as a guide for my professional endeavors, as I choose to promote and empower JEDI principles in my research, teaching, and mentorship to provide a voice for individuals who were told they would never succeed because of their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or physical or mental abilities. I will continue to embody JEDI ideals throughout my career to ensure intersectional discrimination does not perpetuate health inequities nor academic opportunities in our most vulnerable populations.

I am driven by a passion for creating meaningful change by supporting marginalized and underrepresented communities in STEM and beyond. Over the past decade, I have championed DEI initiatives across multiple (9+) organizations, including AAAS, ISCB, and AnitaB.org. My 6 years of leadership in the ISCB Student Council opened opportunities for 2000+ students globally, advocating for youth researchers and initiating various new initiatives. As an AAAS Council member since 2024, I look forward to representing the voice of early career researchers and their challenges and advocating for policies that help address these issues. I take pride in creating spaces where everyone, regardless of background, feels valued and empowered to succeed.

Diversifying engineering isn’t just about inclusivity; it fuels creativity and innovation. This belief led me to volunteer with, and eventually co-lead, Stanford’s Engineering Students for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I'm deeply proud of our initiatives, from equipping faculty with resources to integrate JEDI topics into classrooms to organizing events like Sharing Stories that build community empathy. Our outreach to first-generation college-bound high school students, is particularly special, and seeing their determination is truly inspiring. Working alongside colleagues at Stanford who are passionate about JEDI has been absolutely remarkable and reaffirms my hope for a brighter, more diverse future in engineering.