Due to the postponement of Women in Space 2020 from COVID-19 health and travel concerns, we created a monthly Women in Space Speaker Series to continue engagement and discussion until we are able to meet again. Seminars are held the last Thursday of every month at 7PM Eastern/4PM Pacific. Most of these are/will be recorded for later viewing for those unable to attend at that time (depending upon the wishes of the presenter(s)).
Session 1: Personal Branding & Science Communication
Dr. Tanya Harrison and Dr. Sara Mazrouei, organizers of the Women in Space Conference, kick off our new Women in Space Seminar Series online. This session's focus is on utilizing social media for personal branding and communicating your work, and writing your "elevator pitch" of what you do.
Session 2: Lessons Learned from Failure
It's a well known fact that everyone fails and mistakes are crucial for growth, especially professionally. This is all great and wonderful...except that no one ever talks about their mistakes. Let's change that. In this brutally honest and relaxed conversation, Isa Peterson will talk through some of her epic failures along her path as an engineer, the lessons learned, and advice for her fellow space enthusiasts. This talk, entitled "Lessons Learned in Failure: Dumpster Fires I Couldn't Put Out" is geared for everyone that will appreciate a casual, (hopefully) uplifting conversation on failure and is tailored for both students and professionals.
Session 3: Lack of Representation and Systemic Racism in Academia
Anna Gify Opoku-Agyeman and Ashley Walker will discuss data surrounding the lack of representation in Astro and Planetary Sciences, Ashley's successful initiative "#BlackinAstro", and topics pertaining to systemic racism within academia in quantitatively demanding fields.
Session 4: How to Showcase Your CV in a 2-Page Resume
Beginning a job search is always an overwhelming process, especially when more and more employers prefer a condensed two page resume. What should you remove from your CV to trim down the length? How do you communicate the skills that you gained from a research project or thesis? Jesika Arseneau goes over tips!
At the request of the speaker, this session is not archived. If you are interested in resume assistance, please contact Jesika!
Session 5: Understanding Our Privilege to be Better Allies
Speaker: Ana Sofía Barrows, CCIP
In this session learners will go over some actionable strategies and approaches to implement inclusion. They will develop understanding on how to use their privilege for better allyship. This interactive session will include a thorough conversation on the impact that privilege and performative allyship can have on the community. Lastly, it will deliver some strategies to become active bystanders.
Session 6: Organizing Access-Centered and Interdisciplinary Conferences
Speaker: Divya Persaud
Whether due to climate change, accessibility, or the ongoing pandemic, the format of conferences is rapidly transforming. Furthermore, space science as a field is slowly waking up to its place in society and responsibilities to all. Divya will talk about her experiences organizing Space Science in Context 2020, a virtual conference proposed pre-pandemic to address the need for planetary scientists and the social scientists, activists, and artists who study the field of space science in an access-centered medium. She will also reflect on the ongoing need to shift the way we meet and transfer intra- and inter-community ideas to better serve the planet.
Session 7: Charging What You’re Worth
Speakers: Dr. Sian Proctor, Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, Victoria Carter-Cortez, and Dr. Tanya Harrison
How can you handle salary negotiations in the workplace, as well as figuring out what and how to charge for freelance work? Our panelists discuss.
Session 8: Navigating the Student-Supervisor Relationship as a Student with a Disability
Thursday, Jan 28th at 7PM EDT
Speakers: Ainsley Latour and Dr. Mahadeo Sukhai
The relationship between a STEM trainee and their academic mentor(s) is central to student success in graduate and postdoctoral training programs. Since mentors provide career advice, letters of reference to potential employers and/or further mentoring after graduation, the trainee-mentor relationship often defines the trainee’s career. In graduate and postdoctoral training, particularly in STEM disciplines, personalized accommodation of students with disabilities is the norm. This process often significantly impacts, and is impacted by, the quality of the trainee/mentor relationship. This session will highlight best practices and common challenges in navigating the trainee/mentor relationship in the context of disability and accessibility.
Session 9: Towards Intersectional Equity in Complex Sociotechnical Systems
Complex sociotechnical systems are embedded with the systemic inequities that plague society: for example, racism, classism, sexism, and so forth. In this talk, Dr. Katlyn Turner of MIT’s Media Lab will discuss examples of equity and inequity in complex sociotechnical systems within broader society such as: (1) the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and its disparate effects along lines of class, race and infrastructure, and (2) the exclusionary cultures and demographics uplifted and amplified in STEM and innovation.