Race, class and gender in the workplace: a conversation with Dr. Lizette Rivera

Dr. Lizette Rivera facilitated a conversation on the topic of diverse perspectives on gender and science at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) via ZOOM on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 as part of SUNY ESF’s seminar of “Perspectives on Career and Gender”. 

                Dr. Rivera discussed a variety of topics including but not limited to cycle of socialization, "decolonizing the minds", racism and "white fragility."

In particular two videos were presented and comprehensively discussed in the session. In the first video, a woman of color was asking a white male to respect her title and he refuses. Furthermore, Dr Rivera said “that has happened to me at least five-six times at ESF.” Students then shared their personal experiences and thoughts and tied the issue to socialization. The second video was focused on “mansplaining”, or the practice when a (generally male) person  explains (often in a condescending manner) to another (usually a woman) about a subject on which the latter is more knowledgeable."  The video presented a suggested cure for the practice, much as would be presented in a pharmaceutical advertisement. Discussion continued on making the treatment widely available, as well as introducing the related phenoma “hepeating” and "bropriating" (a term used when ideas are not well received until repeated by a male voice, who is often then credited with the idea. Additionally, other examples of socialization were also discussed. The example of anti-bias training was expressed to make the points very clear for students.  Dr. Rivera also shared instances of using such training to interrupt and address a variety of statements that "are not OK."

Dr. Rivera has bachelor’s degree in Sociology, master's degree in Public Administration and doctorate degree in Community College Leadership. Her research is on research on transfer program between 2 years and 4 years school. She serves as the Director of Student Inclusion Initiatives and Special Assistant to the Chief Diversity Officer at SUNY ESF.

For more information about this and similar topics on inclusion, diversity, and equity, please visit www.esf.edu/ide. For upcoming lectures, please visit ESF’s College Calendar at http://www.esf.edu/calendar. Any questions or concerns can be addressed to Dr. Rivera at lrivera@esf.edu.  

As part of the requirements of FOR 797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students take turns summarizing class discussions, for more information, visit: https://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/Seminar.htm.   The above was prepared by  Shayan Mirzabeigi, a PhD student in the Department of Sustainable Resources Management.  For more information about this graduate seminar, ple

Interviewing: Moving Beyond the Resume

Dr. John Turbeville, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Director of Career Services at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, presented on Improving one’s interviewing skills on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 as part of SUNY ESF’s Perspectives of Career and Gender Spring Seminar Course. 

            Dr. Turbeville discussed interviewing statistics, common interviewing questions employers ask and how to answer them, tips for a successful interview and also highlighted on questions considered illegal during an interview. According to the statistics, 95% of employers say that they are still using resumes and cover letters as the primary medium for deciding who to interview. Dr. Turbeville stated that, employers actually google candidates to see what they learn and how what they are able to find influences negatively or positively, the perceptions of the candidate. During the seminar, we got to know most employers currently use Behavioral-based Interviewing (BBI). “BBI is a technique used in which the job candidate has the opportunity to demonstrate their potential for succeeding in the new job by providing specific examples of how they handled similar situations based on their past experience.” He emphasized the concept of “adaptability” and “creativity” is considered a great strength during interviews in this COVID-19 era. Students then shared their personal experiences with interviews.

Dr. Turbeville received his B.S. in Mathematics from SUNY Oswego, and his M.S. in Higher Education and Ph.D. in Higher Education from the Syracuse University, Maxwell School.  He serves as Dean for Student Affairs and Director of Career Services at the State University of New York- College of Environmental Science and Forestry.  He is the President of SUNY Career Development Organization and a member of The National Career Development Association.

Next in the Gender and Career seminar will be a discussion on Diverse perspectives on gender and science by Dr. Lizette Rivera, Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity at SUNY ESF. For more information about the presentation, contact Diane Kuehn, Associate Professor, at dmkuehn@esf.edu or Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu .

As part of the requirements of FOR 797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students take turns summarizing class discussions, for more information, visit: https://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/Seminar.htm.   The above was prepared by Akosua Asabere, a MS student studying Natural Resources Management in the Department of Sustainable Resource Management.

ESF Take our Kids to Work Day 2021, with asynchronous and synchronous options

ESF extended family and friends are invited to view recordings created by ESFers at the Take our Kids to Work Day playlist.  Current offerings include a Kitchen Crafting Polymer lesson (Maura Stefl, OELO); The Science of Chromatography (Sarita Perez, 2nd yr Biotechnology major); Wetlands, Closer than You Think (Dr. Sharon Moran, Environmental Studies), an Introduction to Landscape Architecture (3 part series, by Ashley Crespo, Mary Martin, Hannah Noll, Matthew Romano, Elena Juodisius); and DIY Deodorants and DIY Body Butter (Sue Fassler, Sustainable Facilities Manager).  As additional videos are added, we will share to our Facebook page. If you have content to share, please contact Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu.

In addition, on April 22, we are pleased to be #BoldlyMovingForward2021, at family’s choice of  9-11:30 EDT or noon-2:30 EDT, at https://www.daughtersandsonstowork.org. The morning session will begin with a live introduction by Ellen Langas and conversation with Ms. Founder Gloria Steinem. The afternoon session will be introduced live by television host Courtney Cason and feature a keynote address by teen inventor Gitanjali Rao.  Each session will then feature live overviews and closings around a cluster of recordings on “15 up-and-coming careers across STEM, Arts, Health Science, Marketing and Business...designed to help students of all ages explore careers and the pathways to achieve them.”  The full schedule and activity downloads can be accessed at daughtersandsons.org; children (through their adult) are encouraged to submit questions in advance at that site to be answered live by Steinem or Rao.

To interact in other ways, including survey responses, contest entries, and receive updates and other information, the child’s ADULT can register at no cost.   Recognizing that some may not be able to take advantage of the program in real time, selected TODASTWD content is anticipated to be available for a week following the event.

While ESF Kids Day organizers hope to resume in-person programming next year, we also anticipate continuing to partner with the TODASTW foundation so that Our Kids can explore more career opportunities, and that Kids elsewhere in the community and world can picture themselves at ESF learning to Improve our World.

 

Building a Better Fieldwork Future: Origins of a Program to Increase Safety in Science

Melissa Cronin

Despite field work being a longstanding practice in the sciences, concerns about sexual harassment and assault in field work has only entered the scientific community dialogue recently, spurred by studies showing that most field participants experience harassment as well as highly publicized cases in the media. This exposure has increased concern and communication around sexual harassment and assault in field-based science—which is second only to the U.S. military in terms of harassment prevalence—and consequently action to better respond to and prevent this phenomenon to make science safer and more inclusive. Melissa Cronin is one of three women who came together to address the latter appraoch and develop a program to prevent harassment. She recently spoke to an audience of faculty, staff, and students at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) via Zoom as part of the Women in Scientific & Environmental Professions (WiSE Professions) speaker series on March 31, 2021.

            Cronin began by addressing the unique challenges presented by field work, including limited outside communication and ways to leave, close quarters, power asymmetry, and interactions with non-group members, among others. After addressing the recently acknowledged prevalence of harassment and assault in field work, Cronin explained that an effective way to prevent these instances from occurring is to address the “organizational climate”, or the shared collective norms and values of an organization or setting. This motivation, to change organizational climate, drives the program she co-developed with Drs. Roxane Beltran and Erika Zavaleta called Building a Better Field work Future: Preventing & Managing Sexual Harassment & Assault in Field Science, or BBFF for short.

click image to view video

            BBFF is a 90-minute, highly interactive workshop that has now been conducted for over 800 participants across many institutions, including some in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria. This program provides examples of tangible policies that institutions can adopt relating to harassment prevention, intervention, and response, such a developing a code of conduct or community agreement (prevention), hosting bystander intervention training (intervention), or implementing zero-tolerance policies (response). This workshop then leads participants through four scenarios increasing in severity and encourages participants to “think out loud” and discuss solutions to these scenarios, keeping in mind that there may be no “right answer.” With an intentionally positive and empowering tone, this workshop helps participants prepare for their field season and become aware of issues and experiences they were not aware of before.

            The popularity of BBFF has grown considerably, and assessments indicate that the highly rated workshop is increasing participants’ knowledge and confidence in these issues. BBFF has become so popular and in high demand that they have implemented a new “Train the Trainers Facilitator Program”, which trainers other individuals, who so far have come from a wide range of disciplines and career stages, to host these BBFF workshops elsewhere. Cronin and her colleagues have also made resources widely available and hope to contribute to a more inclusive cultural shift that values prevention of these issues.

            Melissa Cronin is a Ph.D. candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz, where she studies mapping and mitigating marine fisheries bycatch as a member of the Conservation Action Lab. Prior to her graduate studies, Cronin worked as an environmental journalist covering climate, politics, and wildlife crime, with stories appearing in The New York Times and Popular Science, among other outlets.

            BBFF is coming to SUNY ESF on April 15^th from 7:00-8:30 pm, for those who are interested in experiencing this interactive workshop. This workshop, the next installment in the WiSE Professions speaker series, will be led by Dr. Amanda Adams, Conservation Research Program Manager, Bat Conservation International and Lecturer, Biology, Texas A&M University. Space is still available; sign up at bit.ly/WiSEProfessions.

Perspectives on Career and Gender/WiSE Professions

As part of the course requirements for FOR797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students share  responsibility of reporting on speakers, both in class and in the campus-wide Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.  The preceding was prepared byJenna Zukswert, graduate research assistant and PhD student, SUNY-ESF Department of Sustainable Forest Resources.

Today! Building a Better Training Program for Field-Based Studies

WiSE Professions will feature Building a Better Fieldwork Future, in two independent but related sessions.   “Fieldwork is an essential component of training and research in many scientific disciplines. However, the imbalanced power structure of academia coupled with the remote and informal nature of field sites heightens risks of sexual harassment and assault during fieldwork, especially for women and other at-risk groups. Limited existing research suggests that incidents are widespread and insufficiently addressed by protocols developed for office and classroom settings.” 

Scenario-Based Bystander Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Assault in Field Settings. On March 31, 3:45-4:45 pm EST in conjunction with the Perspectives on Career and Gender graduate seminar, Melissa Cronin, University of California, Santa Cruz, will discuss the development, evolution and assessment of the 90-minute  workshop she, Roxanne Beltran and Erika Zavaleta  developed with support of the Thoreau Foundation and Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-based Opportunities (CAMINO).  The program has expanded to include 28 trainers at 8 other institutions.  

Workshop:  Building a Better Fieldwork Future: Preventing & Managing Sexual Harassment & Assault in the Field Science. On April 15, 7-8:30 pm EST (some seats still available),  certified trainer Dr. Amanda Adams, Conservation Research Program Manager, Bat Conservation International and Lecturer, Biology, Texas A&M University, will introduce “the unique risks posed by fieldwork and offer a suite of evidence-based tools to prevent, intervene in, and respond to sexual harassment and assault. A series of practical intervention scenarios, the workshop guides participants on how to be an active and engaged bystander, report incidents, and plan field settings to minimize risk. Armed with these tools, participants can play a role in ensuring that field settings are safer, more equitable, and more welcoming for the next generation of field scientists.“ 

 Full abstracts and Registration links for both are available at:  bit.ly/WiSEProfessions

Kids Day honors ESF Women through their Stories

Women's History Month has celebrated some of the contributions of women faculty, staff, trustees, administrators and students for their contributions to campus and community. For more than a century, ESF women have made their mark on the ESF campus, for the betterment of all that work and study here.

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay with the support of ESF Diversity commend SUNY-ESF women contributing to...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Tuesday, March 30, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay, along with ESF Diversity are recognizing SUNY-ESF women contributing to...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Monday, March 29, 2021

#WomensHerStoryMonth continues with SUNY-ESF ESF DiversityESF's First female valedictorian was Theresa B Young, who...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Friday, March 26, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay with the support of ESF Diversity remember SUNY-ESF women contributing to...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Thursday, March 25, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay with the support of ESF Diversity remember SUNY-ESF women contributing to...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Wednesday, March 24, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay with the support of @ESFDiversity remember @SUNY-ESF women and SUNY ESF...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Tuesday, March 23, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay with the support of @ESFDiversity remember @SUNY-ESF women contributing to...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Tuesday, March 23, 2021

@ESFKidsDay and @ESFdiversity join Clean Water Action in acknowledging ESF PhD student Kaira Fuentes. In addition to...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Monday, March 22, 2021

SUNY-ESF ESF Diversity is participating in @artforce5’s #WEdraft and honoring one of Syracuse ‘s many New Americans, GraceJones. OIDE Diversity Fellow Bobbetta Davis is representing ESF!

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Sunday, March 21, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay, along with ESF Diversity are recognizing the SUNY-ESF women contributing...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Friday, March 19, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay, along with ESF Diversity, are recognizing the SUNY-ESF Women contributing...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Wednesday, March 17, 2021

In honor of #WomensHerStoryMonth @ESFKidsDay, along with ESF Diversity are recognizing the SUNY-ESF Women contributing...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Tuesday, March 16, 2021

In honor of Women's History Month @ESFKidsDay, along with ESF Diversity are recognizing the SUNY-ESF women (including...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Monday, March 15, 2021

In honor of Women's History Month @ESFKidsDay, along with ESF Diversity are recognizing the SUNY-ESF Women contributing...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Thursday, March 11, 2021

In honor of Women's HerStory Month, we asked folks to share how ESF Women contribute to history or campus, community and...

Posted by ESF Take our Kids to Work Day on Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Title IX Coordinator Rebecca Hoda-Kearse Speaks on Harassment and Whistle-Blowing

Rebecca Hoda-Kearse

    Whistle-blowing and gender-based harassment issues face virtually every institution, and SUNY-ESF is no different. Rebecca Hoda-Kearse knows this intimately due to her role as the Title IX Coordinator at ESF where she oversees campus-wide reports of harassment. She met with the graduate student seminar “Perspectives on Career and Gender” last Wednesday, March 17 to kick off  series of in-class guest speakers and facilitate a conversation about gender discrimination. Hoda-Kearse spoke about Title IX legislation in place to prevent against gender discrimination, which states that no person shall be discriminated against or excluded from any educational program “on the basis of sex.” She went on to introduce the problem of structural power differences between men and other genders, and explained how unequal power relationships can become fertile ground for harassment (such as quid pro quo). Students then shared many personal experiences with discrimination, harassment, and assault. Unsurprisingly, everyone in the conversation had either experienced or knew someone personally who had experienced harassment. It was noted that men are rarely named as the most common perpetrators of violence and harassment - instead,  actions are often referred to passively, i.e. “violence against women.”

    At SUNY-ESF, students and employees have many options for reporting Title IX violations, including directly to Hoda-Kearse or through the “Resilient Oaks App." Reporters can choose to remain anonymous.

    

    Hoda-Kearse is the Title IX Coordinator and Affirmative Action Officer at SUNY-ESF, working closely with the Offices of Student Life, Human Resources, and Inclusion, Diversity and Equity. She oversees Title IX issues and reporting for the campus and manages discrimination-related complaints including sexual harassment.

Next up!

Next in the speaker series hosted by the Gender and Career seminar will be an installment of the campus-wide Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions (WiSE Professions) Speaker Sereis.   Melissa Cronin from UC-Santa Cruz will be discussing an innovative, interactive fieldwork bystander intervention training titled “Building A Better Fieldwork Future” she developed in collaboration with Dr. Roxanne Beltran and Dr. Erika Zavaleta of UCSC. All those who plan or participate in fieldwork, or are interested in fieldwork are encouraged to attend - registration is available at bit.ly/WiSEProfessions.

Perspectives on Career and Gender/WiSE Professions

As part of the course requirements for FOR797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students share  responsibility of reporting on speakers, both in class and in the campus-wide Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.  The preceding was prepared by Leah Prudent, graduate research assistant and PhD student, SUNY-ESF Department of Sustainable Forest Resources.

ESF Women in STEM Fields: panel discussion with recent alumnae

 On March 11,  ESF Women in STEM Fields, the ESF Alumni Association celebrated Women's History Month with a career path panel discussion featuring some of many recent alumnae working in STEM fields. Panelists Aislinn Brackman '13 (Paper Engineering), Change Agent/Continuous Improvement Specialist, von Drehle Corporation; Olivia Liu '15 (Landscape Architecture), Assistant Landscape Architect, New York City Parks; Hilary Niver-Johnson '11 (Environmental Science), Proprietor, Sustainable Viticulture Systems; Emily Thiel '14 (Environmental Communications), Education and Outreach Coordinator, WNY Prism.   

Debbie Caviness, Director of the Alumni Association asked panelist about their career paths, challenges, and the  surprising things about their current work.  They also shared frustration of the perception that they were less experienced than male counterparts, even when credentials demonstrate that they indeed are qualified.

This session is a collaboration of the Alumni Association, Career Services, Admissions, and ESF Women's Caucus, for current ESF students and employees as well as for prospective and incoming students. 

WiSE Professions in STEM fields, and in the field.

Explore career path, and the critical importance of empowered bystanders in field-based education and research through the 2021 Women in Scientific Professions Speaker Series.  

On March 11,  ESF Women in STEM Fields, the ESF Alumni Association will celebrate Women's History Month with a career path panel discussion (1-2 pm EST, Join Session) featuring some of many recent alumnae working in STEM fields. Panelists include Aislinn Brackman '13 (Paper Engineering), Change Agent/Continuous Improvement Specialist, von Drehle Corporation; Olivia Liu '15 (Landscape Architecture), Assistant Landscape Architect, New York City Parks; Hilary Niver-Johnson '11 (Environmental Science), Proprietor, Sustainable Viticulture Systems; Emily Thiel '14 (Environmental Communications), Education and Outreach Coordinator, WNY Prism.   This session is a collaboration of the Alumni Association, Career Services, Admissions, and ESF Women's Caucus, for current ESF students and employees as well as for prospective and incoming students. 

WiSE Professions will then shift focus to those planning, training, and conducting field research with Building a Better Fieldwork Future, in two independent but related sessions.   “Fieldwork is an essential component of training and research in many scientific disciplines. However, the imbalanced power structure of academia coupled with the remote and informal nature of field sites heightens risks of sexual harassment and assault during fieldwork, especially for women and other at-risk groups. Limited existing research suggests that incidents are widespread and insufficiently addressed by protocols developed for office and classroom settings.” 

·        Scenario-Based Bystander Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Assault in Field Settings. On March 31, 3:45-4:45 pm EST (PLEASE REGISTER HERE), in conjunction with the Perspectives on Career and Gender graduate seminar, Melissa Cronin, University of California, Santa Cruz, will discuss the development and assessment of the 90-minute  workshop she, Roxanne Beltran and Erika Zavaleta  developed with support of the Thoreau Foundation and Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-based Opportunities (CAMINO).  The program has expanded to include 28 trainers at 8 other institutions.  

·        Workshop:  Building a Better Fieldwork Future: Preventing & Managing Sexual Harassment & Assault in the Field Science. On April 15, 7-8:30 pm EST (Please Register here; note space is limited),  certified trainer Dr. Amanda Adams, Conservation Research Program Manager, Bat Conservation International and Lecturer, Biology, Texas A&M University, will introduce “the unique risks posed by fieldwork and offer a suite of evidence-based tools to prevent, intervene in, and respond to sexual harassment and assault. A series of practical intervention scenarios, the workshop guides participants on how to be an active and engaged bystander, report incidents, and plan field settings to minimize risk. Armed with these tools, participants can play a role in ensuring that field settings are safer, more equitable, and more welcoming for the next generation of field scientists.  

This workshop will bookend a series that launched during the winter break with a screening of  Picture a Scientist, in which “(b)iologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries - including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists - who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.” The screening culminated in a discussion January 21 with Dr. Mary Collins (Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies), Jennifer Keating (Project Coordinator, Choose Action Network); Nicole Williams '05 (Finance & Operations Director, Ocean Outcomes) and Rebecca Hoda-Kearse (Title IX/Affirmative Action Officer), moderated Dr. Malika Carter, Chief Diversity Officer.  Screening and panel were presented by the ESF Alumni Association in collaboration with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity; ESF Women's Caucus; and the Choose Action Network

The WiSE Professions Speaker Series is a program of the ESF Women’s Caucus, presented by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with the assistance of other groups and offices across campus.  For more information, contact Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu.  

ESF Women making HerStory

In honor of Women's History Month, the ESF Women's Caucus and Office of Inclusion Diversity and Equity would like to acknowledge the many ways that ESF Women (current or past faculty, staff, administrator, alumna, student) are making/made history, or that contribute/contributed to campus, community or beyond!  We hope to share these tributes over the course of the month with the nominees and (with their permission) via social media.  Please nominate ESF Women through this form.

Dr. Carter in draft Jersey & cards.

To thank you for your help in recognizing these amazing individuals, we'll have some drawings later in the month for an Alice Paul Women's Empowerment Draft jersey (1-size 2X) and decks of Women's Empowerment Cards (5) created by the talented students of Art Force 5, and donated by the OIDE.  Each nomination can be entered to win.  

For more information about the ESF Women's Caucus, visit https://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus, and to learn more about initiatives launching through the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, visit https://www.esf.edu/IDE.

This Alice Paul 19th Amendment Women's Empowerment
Draft Jersey can be yours!