Diversity and Outreach
I am a member of the Diné tribe and the first person in my family to earn a PhD. I use that opportunity to volunteer my expertise and help students from underrepresented backgrounds succeed in higher education. I have been awarded the Ford Foundation’s Predoctoral, Dissertation, and Postdoctoral Fellowships. I share that program’s ambition to maximize the educational benefits of diversity and increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.
Serving on the Philosophy of Science Association’s Underrepresented Philosophy of Science Scholars Committee (UPSS)
I began serving on the Philosophy of Science Association’s UPSS Committee in Spring 2024. I am especially eager to promote Indigenous approaches to philosophy of science by expanding PSA workshops to tribal colleges and universities.
Mentoring Students from the Global South through the Santa Fe Institute’s Complexity Global School for Emerging Political Economies
In December 2023, SFI held student workshops in India and South Africa for their inaugural Complexity Global School for Emerging Political Economies program. One group of students began a research project comparing Indigenous representations of the world with recent Western scientific representations of the world. I help mentor this group via video conferencing and offer methodological advice for thinking historically and philosophically about human inquiry across time and space.
2021 Eagle Spirit Award
I was awarded the 2021 Eagle Spirit Award by Arizona State University and the Heard Museum. The award is given to an exceptional Native graduate student fulfilling a course of study at Arizona State University. The award recognizes these students’ dedication to American Indian communities through service and volunteering as well as their academic achievement in their fields of study
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee at Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences
I served as a graduate student representative on the School of Life Sciences’ newly formed JEDI committee. I was awarded the School of Life Sciences’ 2021 Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award for my work on this committee.
Ford Foundation Fellowship Advisor for Arizona State University’s Office of Distinguished Graduate Fellowships
I advised graduate students from all disciplines planning to apply for a Ford Foundation Fellowship. I also helped applicants revise and edit application documents.
ASU Prison Biology Education Program Volunteers Re-Binding Textbooks So We Can Bring Them into the Prison: (Left to Right) Ethan Howley, Steven Hart, Kelle Dhein, Cassandra Barrett, Adele Crane.
ASU Prison Biology Education Program
While at Arizona State University, I volunteered with the Prison Biology Education Program, a group of graduate student volunteers led by Dr. Tsafrir Mor who teach a college level introductory biology course to incarcerated students inside an Arizona State Penitentiary.
Ask a Biologist
I volunteered for Arizona State University’s online Ask a Biologist program, where I answered pre K-12 students’ questions about biology, especially when those questions have philosophical or historical slants. For instance, one of my favorite questions came from a tenth grader: “In biology, are there questions that can’t be answered?”
Embryo Project Outreach Events
As a former instructor and editor for the Embryo Project, I also volunteered at Embryo Project public outreach events.
Embryo Project’s outreach event at Arizona State University’s Homecoming
Embryo Project at Night of the Open Door Outreach Event, 2016
Embryo Project at Night of the Open Door Outreach Event, 2019
