2024 NSF ADVANCE Equity in STEM Community Convening

Members of DU MERISTEM attended the conference in Baltimore, Maryland, June 2-5, 2024.

This past June, DU MERISTEM Co-PIs Dr. Anna Sher (DU MERISTEM Faculty Director and Professor of Biology) and Dr. Deb Ortega (co-Founder DU Latinx Center and Professor of GSSW), and Grant Coordinator Brenda Nix attended the 2024 NSF ADVANCE Equity in STEM Community Convening in Baltimore, MD. Together, they attended over a dozen different sessions and workshops addressing significant issues of equity in STEM, including creating inclusive community, evaluating program sustainability, and institutional transformation through a DEI lens. The team also presented a poster on MERISTEM with a spotlight on DU-HEAL, an innovative approach to managing and healing conflicts that do not reach the level of Equal Opportunity/Title IX. Attending this national convening has helped the DU MERISTEM program continue to build and strengthen connections with other universities and learn about what is working elsewhere to hire, support, and retain HEF in STEM.