Membership

I'm interested in building a career to increase representation and accessibility in STEM

To support diversity in neuropsychiatric research!

I am committed to advancing equitable neuroscience, grounded in the belief that we cannot truly understand how the brain develops and functions without the equal representation of all children in our research, and without uplifting scientists who have been historically underrepresented, excluded, or discriminated against in the field. The underrepresentation of marginalized communities in neuroimaging research has far-reaching consequences—not only for our understanding of the developing brain but also for building scientific capacity in regions of the world where resources for neuroscience are limited or nonexistent. I recently co-authored a manuscript (titled: "Modality-level obstacles and initiatives to improve representation in fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging research samples" in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience) on the issue of non-representative samples in neuroimaging and discussed strategies for mitigating this issue. I hope that ALBA can serve as a community through which I can collaborate with like-minded researchers, amplify efforts to promote inclusivity in neuroscience, and contribute to meaningful, systemic change in how we design, conduct, and disseminate research.

To gain advocates, allies, mentors and a support group

In order to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion allow for all individuals to have meaningful research experiences and permit all individuals to contribute to the advancement of our understanding of the human brain without imposed limitations.

I believe in increasing visibility and representation of marginalized groups in the neuroscience field

After developing and working with BrainWaves (link attached), a program aimed at bringing hands on EEG research into the classroom, my passion for STEM outreach and equal opportunity in the foundational years in high school regardless of economic background has grown immensely. If we can cultivate interests in neuroscience at a young age, we may then finally be able to see a demographic change reflected in the professional world of research.

I am joining Alba as I have faced many challenges in my career thus far as an underrepresented trainee. In recent months, due to the US federal crackdown on "DEI" initiatives, I have not only been excluded from career- and life-changing funding opportunities, but also watched as the programs that allowed me to advance to this stage in my career are defunded and cancelled. I want to be a part of a network of scientists who similarly refuse to comply in advance, and are unafraid to organize independently against the forces attempting to re-segregate and censor scientific research.

I am a white woman married to an Afro-Carribean man. We have an adopted bi-racial daughter and are part of a blended family with her 4 other sisters, their adoptive parents, and her birth mom. I was raised by a linguist mother who surrounded me with individuals from all walks of life and from various cultures. I have always cared about diversity and been aware of multi-cultural issues. However, marrying and adopting into a blended, multi-cultural (race, country, faith) family to realize the importance of MY direct action. I have always thought that there was not much for me to teach in the Neuroscience classroom about diversity. Now, I realize how wrong, and lazy, this assumption was. I am now committed to integrating these issues into my teaching and research mentoring at my institution, a Primarily White, and Undergraduate, Institution.

In my role of DEI officer at the Zuckerman Brain Mind Behavior Institute at Columbia University, I am interested in connecting with practitioners in the field to learn best and next practices and advance equity in science.

As a member of the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee (DIC) of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), I have been consistently contributing to investigate and implement plans to ensure diversity in our neuroscience community, leading and being involved in several short- and long-term projects tied to our committee. I am currently serving as the 2023-2024 chair of the diversity and inclusivity committee of OHBM, and I think that joining ALBA network can help us to collaborate on our common goals and to create multiple opportunities to early career researchers with underrepresented and/or underprivileged backgrounds.