The National Diversity in Stem Conference (NDiSTEM) organized by the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) is the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the U.S., serving to equip, empower, and energize participants for their academic and professional paths in STEM.
At the 2023 event held in October in Portland, SAFS graduate student, Nicole Doran, won the research presentation prize for Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation in the field of Ecology and Evolution, and recent Marine Biology graduate, Olivia Anderson, won a Native American/Indigenous Student Research Abstract Award. 

Returning on Tuesday 10 October at 3.30pm, join your fellow SAFS community for hot drinks, tasty treats, and conversation each week during the Fall Quarter.
Are you a student? Staff member? Faculty? Researcher? Take a break from your day and get to know others working at SAFS. All are welcome!
Tuesdays at 3.30pm in the second floor kitchen area near the patio. 

Settling into her new role as Associate Director and Graduate Program Coordinator of SAFS, Chelsea Wood is excited to help SAFS scale up its efforts to build community. “Learning and growth happen when people feel a sense of belonging, and that can be fostered by embedding them in a strong community,” she says. “Strong academic communities are tightly networked, with many and robust connections between individual people and across lab groups. 

Welcoming the newest SAFS Professor and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the College of the Environment, we spoke with Corey Garza. He shares his plans to enhance College diversity, what he’s most excited about by joining SAFS, and insight into his world of research using drones.
What plans do you have for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as Associate Dean? 

Immersive fieldwork, a bridge program for community college students, a unique research opportunity – these are just some of the ways to describe the GEODUC program, whose team has been awarded the College of the Environment’s Outstanding Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Accessibility Award.
The GEODUC program – which welcomes transfer students each September into the UW marine geosciences – is led by José Guzmán, (Marine Biology and SAFS), Mikelle Nuwer (Oceanography), Kerry Naish (Marine Biology and SAFS), LuAnne Thompson (Oceanography), and Jane Dolliver (Dean’s Office, College of the Environment). 

We are excited to announce that the Equity & Inclusion Committee has released the “Undergraduate Mentorship Guide for Community-Building”, which is now available on the SAFS DEI webpage! The guide is designed to help undergraduate students and their mentors navigate the mentoring relationship and achieve success.
This mentorship guide is intended primarily for undergraduate students (mentees) and for graduate students, postdocs, and staff, (who may serve as mentors) at SAFS. 

Join your SAFS Community for a special All Hands Meeting where you can ask all of your burning questions!
Want to know more about the life of a post doc? Interested in the graduate program process? Always wanted to ask a faculty member what their day looks like? Wondering what are some of the important topics impacting our school? Want to know how SAFS is working to be more inclusive? 

Last autumn, SAFS completed its first ever DEI Assessment, which highlighted key areas for SAFS to concentrate its future efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Since that time, the Diversity Specialist and members of the Equity and Inclusion (EI) Committee have used the recommendations of the DEI Assessment and feedback from the SAFS community to draft the latest iteration of the SAFS EI Strategic Plan. 

After more than a year of research, planning, and advocacy by grad students, staff, and postdocs, SAFS completed its first-ever DEI Assessment (or “Equity Audit”) in autumn quarter 2021. SAFS contracted with WhitworthKee Consulting, who held focus groups and developed a survey instrument to assess the School’s climate and opportunities for growth.

SAFS welcomes its first Diversity Specialist, Michael Martínez. The SAFS Diversity Specialist will fill a key role in the School’s ongoing efforts to become an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming academic and professional institution for students, staff, faculty, and colleagues. Michael comes to SAFS by way of the Northwest School, where they were a Residential Life Coordinator who worked to create a culture of inclusion and equity among students and faculty from different backgrounds.