Working Groups
Academic Recruitment
Academic Recruitment Group is responsible for enhancing the recruitment of under-represented groups to our Academic Programs (JP, postdocs, undergrad programs). This group works with APO, PEP, and MIT to establish institutional relationships and pathways for access. Current initiatives focus on middle and high school outreach education, student recruitment strategies, and publishing the Through the Porthole newsletter which offers resources for undergraduate students considering applying to graduate school.
Contact: Kama Thieler and Tom Bell
Messaging
The Messaging Group is responsible for composing, designing, and communicating our message within and beyond the WHOI community. They collaborated with local community media center, FCTV, to publish a series of short interviews called “Conversation Starters”. This series highlights members of the WHO community working on DEI related initiatives (linked here). This group is also responsible for designing and launching the #humansofwhoi campaign in collaboration with the Communications Department, as well as working with the CDEIO on expanding inclusive artwork on the WHOI campus.
Contact: Elise Hugus and Veronique LaCapra
Events
Events Group is responsible for organizing the Committee's participation in events we initiate, such as Celebrating Humans of WHOI, as well as those we co-sponsor with other groups and the CDEIO, such as the Room Naming Celebration, events at the Science Stroll, and others. We also developed and maintain the WHOI Inclusive Event Guidelines.
Contact: Laura Motta and Loay Jabre
Disability Education
The Disability Education Group was formed in the fall of 2024 to increase education and awareness about equity and inclusion for people with disabilities. The group is hoping to educate themselves and the WHOI community about unintentional bias against people with disabilities and exclusionary behavior with the hope of further developing WHOI as a comfortable working environment for all.
Contact: Amy Bower and Grace Simpkins
Retired Working Groups
The CDEI recongizes that at any point in time, new working groups are needed to tackle issues and these usually grow out of community interest and engagement from both within and outside of the CDEI. In the past, we have had working groups that focused on Community Building, the URGE program, Incubator for new ideas, and Room Naming. If you have ideas for future working groups, email the co-chairs: Julie Huber & Ben Weiss.
Updates
March is Greek-American Heritage month, also known as Hellenic Heritage month. The celebration of Greek-American history coincides with Greece’s National Greek Independence Day on March 25th. Mass Greek migration to the United States began in the late 1800s and now, over 2.5 million Americans are of Greek descent. To learn more about Greek-American history and…
March is Irish-American Heritage Month, and while many will think first of St. Patrick’s Day and green beer, there is a great deal more to Irish culture than that! Ireland has a rich literary history, and is especially known for folk tales and fairy tales. Heroes like Finn McCool, tragic tales like the Children of…
If you are looking for another local bookstore that is not of the big-box variety, check out the Footprints Café! Located just over the bridge in Buzzard’s Bay, Footprints Café is a Black-owned, woman-owned bookstore that focuses on people and authors of color. A coffee shop is due to open soon, too! You can find…
“Illuminating Stories” is a special exhibition featuring the art of Herring Pond Tribe Members & students, to be held November 6, 2021, 4-6pm at Pilgrim Hall Museum, 75 Court St., Plymouth, MA 02360. The art was produced out of a three-day workshop with Meclina Gomes, co-founder Community Art Collaborative and Plymouth North and Plymouth South…
The CDEI ordered gender pronoun buttons for people to use for in-person gatherings, when those happen again. They are available on both campuses. Please help yourself. There is a bowl in the Smith Lobby and a bowl on the front desk of APO in Clark. We’ll refresh the supply periodically. Also, the LGBTQ+ small business…
New WHOI Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer July 30, 2021 Woods Hole, MA – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the world’s independent leader in ocean discovery, exploration, and education, today announced the appointment of Dr. Natalie Nevárez as Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Nevárez will begin in this newly created role on August…
The WHOI Workplace Climate Committee, GLOW and Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be co-sponsoring a WHOI-wide CommuniTea on Friday, July 16th at 11 am. This is a follow up to the July 4th GLOW/CDEI Panel Discussion on Allyship. We are looking to hold either a Virtual or Hybrid event. Please use the following…
Wandering the halls of WHOI, you may have noticed small rainbow stickers sprinkled throughout the buildings. The stickers depict a ship’s silhouette, set against the colors of the new pride flag, designed by Daniel Quasar. These small stickers help Queer folks identify spaces where they can expect to feel comfortable and in the company of…
More information here.
June 4th GLOW & CDEI co-hosted an Allyship Panel in honor of Pride Month and the upcoming Juneteenth. We had over 130 participants and a fantastic discussion with our panelists and audience. We began with this video on What is Allyship and Why is it Important? In just under three minutes, it frames what it…