As a queer (i.e. LGBTQ+)* adult, I know it is imperative to provide our LGBTQ+ friends and colleagues with the visibility and support they need to do their best work expanding the limits of science and solving society's most pressing challenges. Having struggled in the past with feeling isolated as a queer scientist, I have made it a priority these last few years to both seek out and provide supportive communities for LGBTQ+ professionals across a variety of disciplines.
Starting in April 2020, I reached out to the non-profit organization Fulbright Prism to express my interest in building a network of LGBTQ+ Fulbright grantees and alumni**. This led me to become the President and Chapter Coordinator of Fulbright Prism's first United States regional chapter (as well as its proud logo designer). As a leader of Fulbright Prism, I participanted in both Fulbright Prism's 2020 Global Pride Panel and The Fulbright Association's 2021 Pride Forum. Aside from Fulbright Prism, I helped organize virtual LGBTQ+ networking events for attendees of the American Geophysical Union's 2020 and 2021 Fall Meetings, and also co-hosted a "Queer Brunch" for LGBTQ+ alumni of my high school, Harvard-Westlake, in May 2020. I have also participated in virtual "coffee hours" for LGBTQ+ members of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Geosciences (AAPIiG), whose mission is to "foster a sense of community among AAPI geoscientists" (I myself am multiracial: Native Hawaiian, Chinese American, and white).
Below is the list of LGBTQ+ professional organizations I have been involved with or inspired by:
Fulbright Prism -- a community of LGBTQ+ Fulbright grant recipients and alumni. Prism provides resources for queer grantees, friends and colleagues in multiple countries, and currently has four regional chapters: U.S. West Coast, Taiwan, Ireland, and Netherlands.
500 Queer Scientists -- a community dedicated to increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ scientists. Starting out as a website for queer scientists to post brief biographies of themselves, 500 QS now hosts a monthly newsletter--The 500QS Reader--that highlights queer scientists, content creators and science organizations. (To subscribe to The 500QS Reader, which also includes a job board and events calendar, simply email [email protected]).
oSTEM -- short for "Out in STEM," a prominent LGBTQ+ organization for STEM students and professionals that hosts an annual conference and has numerous local chapters throughout the U.S. (including at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).
Pride in STEM -- the organization behind "LGBT STEM Day," the event that inspired me to come out publicly for the first time in July 2019.
Additional LGBTQ+ STEM organizations
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*LGBTQ stands for "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning," and is often followed by "+" to indicate additional sexual, romantic and gender identities including, but not limited to, Intersex and Asexual. The term "queer" is often used synonymously with LGBTQ+, while also indicating any sexual/romantic orientation or gender identity more nuanced or fluid than lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
**(I had conducted my own Fulbright fellowship in New Zealand in 2016).
Starting in April 2020, I reached out to the non-profit organization Fulbright Prism to express my interest in building a network of LGBTQ+ Fulbright grantees and alumni**. This led me to become the President and Chapter Coordinator of Fulbright Prism's first United States regional chapter (as well as its proud logo designer). As a leader of Fulbright Prism, I participanted in both Fulbright Prism's 2020 Global Pride Panel and The Fulbright Association's 2021 Pride Forum. Aside from Fulbright Prism, I helped organize virtual LGBTQ+ networking events for attendees of the American Geophysical Union's 2020 and 2021 Fall Meetings, and also co-hosted a "Queer Brunch" for LGBTQ+ alumni of my high school, Harvard-Westlake, in May 2020. I have also participated in virtual "coffee hours" for LGBTQ+ members of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Geosciences (AAPIiG), whose mission is to "foster a sense of community among AAPI geoscientists" (I myself am multiracial: Native Hawaiian, Chinese American, and white).
Below is the list of LGBTQ+ professional organizations I have been involved with or inspired by:
Fulbright Prism -- a community of LGBTQ+ Fulbright grant recipients and alumni. Prism provides resources for queer grantees, friends and colleagues in multiple countries, and currently has four regional chapters: U.S. West Coast, Taiwan, Ireland, and Netherlands.
500 Queer Scientists -- a community dedicated to increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ scientists. Starting out as a website for queer scientists to post brief biographies of themselves, 500 QS now hosts a monthly newsletter--The 500QS Reader--that highlights queer scientists, content creators and science organizations. (To subscribe to The 500QS Reader, which also includes a job board and events calendar, simply email [email protected]).
oSTEM -- short for "Out in STEM," a prominent LGBTQ+ organization for STEM students and professionals that hosts an annual conference and has numerous local chapters throughout the U.S. (including at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).
Pride in STEM -- the organization behind "LGBT STEM Day," the event that inspired me to come out publicly for the first time in July 2019.
Additional LGBTQ+ STEM organizations
-------------------------------------------------------
*LGBTQ stands for "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning," and is often followed by "+" to indicate additional sexual, romantic and gender identities including, but not limited to, Intersex and Asexual. The term "queer" is often used synonymously with LGBTQ+, while also indicating any sexual/romantic orientation or gender identity more nuanced or fluid than lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
**(I had conducted my own Fulbright fellowship in New Zealand in 2016).