Scripps Brings On Board Three Fresh Faces for Community Outreach Initiatives
At UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a group of dedicated students, known as the Community Engagement Fellows, are working tirelessly to foster minority student participation and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within academia.
The Fellows play a vital role in advancing EDI by supporting community-led engagement, fostering inclusive participation in environmental and climate research initiatives, and ensuring that underrepresented voices are included in the scientific dialogue and decision-making processes.
One of the key objectives of these programs is to facilitate meaningful connections between researchers and diverse community groups. By doing so, they aim to empower marginalized communities, help address disparities in environmental impacts, and raise awareness of climate and environmental issues.
In addition to strengthening community relationships, the Fellows also support EDI initiatives by promoting equitable access to education, resources, and opportunities within oceanographic and climate science fields. They engage in outreach and education activities, collaborating with organizations focused on environmental justice, such as The Urban Collaborative Project.
The Fellows, who are students at UC San Diego and hold paid positions, work closely with the Director of Diversity Initiatives for Scripps Oceanography, Keiara Auzenne, to create diversity workshops, trainings, and plan events. They have successfully hosted over 100 community meetups for various affinity groups at Scripps and publish the monthly CARES Newsletter to engage the Scripps community and increase awareness for resources available.
Among the Fellows are Anaí Novoa, a sixth-year PhD candidate in marine biology and a second-year Community Engagement Fellow, and Nilusha Wanniappa, a fourth-year environmental systems undergraduate student with an interest in coastal communities and marine ecosystems. Both are deeply committed to making science and the ocean accessible to everyone.
Anaí Novoa, who was raised in City Heights, a San Diego community known for its ethnic diversity, spends her free time mentoring students from her community (as part of Ocean Discovery Institute's programming). Nilusha Wanniappa plans to continue her studies in marine biology, environmental justice, and the effects of climate change on highly impacted communities after attaining her undergraduate degree.
The organization welcomes six Community Engagement Fellows, three new and three returning. Noreen Garcia, a third-year marine chemistry and geochemistry PhD student, and Danielle McHaskell, a third-year marine biology PhD student, are among the new Fellows.
The Fellows will also participate in new activities, including supporting the URGE pod at Scripps, a program designed to deepen the knowledge of the effects of racism on the participation of people of color in geoscience and to develop and implement anti-racist policies.
Through their efforts, these Community Engagement Fellows contribute to a more inclusive scientific environment and aid in addressing social and environmental inequities connected to ocean and climate sciences.
- Anaí Novoa and Nilusha Wanniappa, being part of UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography Community Engagement Fellows, are dedicated to making science and the ocean accessible to everyone, with Novoa mentoring students from San Diego's ethnically diverse City Heights community.
- The Fellows also work on broadening diversity and inclusion within academia by participating in programs like URGE pod, aiming to deepen the knowledge of racism's impact on people of color in geoscience and develop anti-racist policies.
- In addition to their oceanographic research and education development activities, the Community Engagement Fellows also collaborate with organizations focusing on environmental justice, such as The Urban Collaborative Project, to promote equitable access to education, resources, and opportunities within earth system science.
