2019 inclusion event celebrates diversity amid protests

Students and alumni gathered with industry leaders at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Saturday, August 17th, to highlight the importance of inclusion and diversity in STEM at the 3rd Annual Inclusion Symposium. 

Initially scheduled to take place at the UO's White Stag Building, the event was moved to OMSI's location across the river in an effort to avoid disruption during planned protests in downtown Portland that day. Unfortunately, the event was interrupted when the building was put on lockdown due to security concerns as a Proud Boys rally marched through the OMSI parking lot, underscoring the need for the conversations held within. The event proceeded as planned.

A natural evolution of the Women’s Inclusion Network created to build community among women in STEM, the Inclusion Symposium celebrates the benefits of inclusing all voices in the workplace – and embraces dialogue about the challenges for getting there. The event featured panels of alumni and industry leaders, student speeches and networking opportunities.

Leading up to the symposium each summer, students are invited to participate in optional inclusion workshops. Topics include an examination of identity, leveraging privilege for the benefit of others, handling microaggressions, engaging in challenging conversations, company culture, mentorship and allyship.

MIIP Director Dr. Stacey York moderated the senior panel, which included leaders from Adaptive Biotechnologies, Raytheon, ON Semiconductor and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The alumni panel was moderated by Alumni Network Manager Betsy Tanenbaum and included alumni from General Automation Lab Technologies, Raytheon, Oregon Health and Science University, Boeing and Northrup Grumman.

Four current students gave powerful speeches about their personal journeys in inclusion and diversity:
Pilar Gonzalez (Polymer track)
Suzanna Officer (Optics track)
Anastasiya Prymolenna (Bioinformatic & Genomics)
Samuel Roland (Polymer track)

Woven throughout the event were networking breaks that provided opportunities for informal conversation and building new connections. Students leveraged the skills developed during the summer’s professional development class to build lasting relationships with alumni and industry leaders. These connections create avenues for furture dialoge and carrying the important work of inclusion forward.

 

Senior Leaders Panel:

Shay Miller
Sr. Talent Acquisition Partner, Adaptive Biotechnologies

Dr. Mary Moore
Engineer, Raytheon
STEM Entrepreneur, S.T.E.M. Community Outreach

Alicia Scott
Director, Diversity & Inclusion and Talent Management, ON Semiconductor

Dhruti Trivedi
Program Manager - Advanced Technology, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Alumni Panel:

Robert Gianan
Development Engineer, General Automation Lab Technologies

Michael Loder
Sr. Multi0Disciplined Engineer, Raytheon

Sam Sivagnanam
Computational Biologist Research Associate, Oregon Health and Sciences University

Alex Wert
Battery Engineer, Boeing

Carly Wright
Optical Engineer, Northrup Grumman

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Dr. Mary Moore.
2019 Inclusion Symposium
Shay Miller.

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Senior leaders panel.

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Senior Leaders Panel with moderator Stacey York.
2019 Inclusion Symposium
Senior leaders panel.

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Student speaker, Suzanna Officer.
2019 Inclusion Symposium
Student speaker, Anastasiya Prymolenna.

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Alumni panel.
2019 Inclusion Symposium
Michael Loder.
2019 Inclusion Symposium
Alumni Panel with moderator Betsy Tanenbaum.
2019 Inclusion Symposium
Carly Wright.

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Robert Gianan.
2019 Inclusion Symposium
Sam Sivagnanam.

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Students network with panelists.

 

2019 Inclusion Symposium
Networking with panelists.