Southeastern Fishes Council |
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Contact us at DEI@sefishescouncil.org
Who We Are
Current Committee Chair
River Watson (she/her) rwatson@usm.edu
Current Committee Members
Brittany McCall (she/her) brittanymccall@augustana.edu
Dan Akin (he/him) daniel.akin1@louisiana.edu
Mack White (he/him) mwhite@fiu.edu
Kevin Jones (they/them) kwj56@msstate.edu
Past Committee Members:
Nastasia Disotell
Luke Etchison
Chance Garrett
Shannon Murphy
Jim Williams
What We Do
The Southeastern Fishes Council Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee was formed as a result of a resolution at the 2021 annual meeting, to bring more awareness and fairness into our society’s membership, policies, and procedures.
The objectives of the SFC are to disseminate information on and promote the diversity and conservation of fishes in the southeastern United States, and the SFC membership is comprised of people who reflect diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, ability status, and many other forms of diversity, and the membership of SFC does not currently reflect the full human diversity of the southeastern United States. SFC recognizes that people from underrepresented backgrounds may have been systematically devalued, treated unfairly, and threatened in the United States, or simply discouraged from pursuing careers in the biological and environmental sciences, and strives to give honor justly by welcoming diverse ideas, equitable recognition of accomplishments, and inclusivity of each of its members. Diversity in natural ecosystems promotes strength and resilience across communities, and the mission and work of SFC will similarly benefit from greater inclusion of scientists from underrepresented backgrounds.
Annual Meeting Harassment Reporting Form
Diversity Travel Award (Application Coming Soon)
The SFC DEI Diversity Travel Award will be given to two awardees each year who come from minority groups, including but not limited to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, first generation college students, and/or a person with a disability. This award will cover many costs of attending the SFC annual meeting on the front end, as SFC recognized that it may be difficult for people from under-represented groups to cover costs themselves and be reimbursed later on. The award will cover registration and membership, a per diem amount for food, and travel costs (estimated mileage if driving, round trip ticket cost if flying). Hotel costs will either be reimbursed to the awardee on the last day of the meeting or can be paid for by a sponsor. Applicants do not have to: be a student, present research, have attended the meeting before.
Code of Conduct Southeastern Fishes Council - Meeting Code of Conduct (wildapricot.org)
2022 Demographic Survey Results DEI_Survey_Results_2022.pdf
2023 Demographic Survey Results DEI_Survey_Results_2023.pdf
If you are a member of SFC please fill out the 2024 annual survey found here. Results from this survey will be presented at the Business Meeting.
Mentor/Mentee Lunch
Friday, November 22nd 2024, there will be an optional Mentor/Mentee lunch during the conference lunch time slot. Members will be paired with a mentor or mentee match with similar interests to have lunch with. There are no specific qualifications to apply to be a mentor or a mentee and we encourage individuals from all career types and stages to participate on either side as they feel necessary and useful. Ideally, these connections will lead to mentees having access to additional individuals that can aid with providing advice on research, graduate school, fellowship programs and funding opportunities, job searches, as well as give insight into career paths and research topics.
Outside Resources
Accessibility:
Inclusive Design for Accessible Presentations — Smashing Magazine
Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities - Microsoft Support
Accessible fonts: Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman
Colorblind friendly palettes: Paul Tol's Notes (sron.nl)
Making Colorblind Friendly Figures in R: Creating Colorblind Friendly Figures
How to Make Figures and Presentations that are Friendly to Colorblind People
Color blindness simulator website: https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/
Color blindness simulator Chrome extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/colorblindly/floniaahmccleoclneebhhmnjgdfijgg?hl=en-GB
Outreach:
The Full List of HBCU Colleges (In Every US State!) (thecollegepost.com)
Helpful Reads:
Whose indigenous land are you on? Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land
What Comes Next? Simple Practices to Improve Diversity in Science | ACS Central Science
Celebrating scientists with disabilities | Royal Society
Achieving diversity in Research (nature.com)
3 Simple Steps to Create a More Inclusive Work Space for Our LGBTQ+ Community (fisheries.org)