In this next call in our ongoing series of conversations in the Switzer Fellows' Race and Equity Reading Group*, we will hear from Dr. Erika Zavaleta, 1999 Switzer Fellow, Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz, and Director of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UCSC.  This call will focus on barriers, opportunities and leadership pathways for students of color in environmental science, interventions to support professional and leadership development in environmental fields, and the challenges and payoffs of such interventions. Participants on this call can share their experiences and questions in an open exchange.  

Click here for more information, and for links to registration.

Date/Time:  Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - 12:30 pm ET

*This call is open to all Fellows and their close colleagues. You do not need to be a member of the reading group to participate, and all Fellows are welcome to join this reading group at any time!  Please contact Lauren to be added to the Google group.

We are thrilled to offer the very special opportunity for Switzer Fellows and colleagues to work with our esteemed friend and colleague, Sherri Mitchell, a Penobscot Tribal member (from Maine), in this one-day workshop in Oakland.  

Date:   Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Time:  9 am - 4 pm

Location:  Oakstop, 1721 Broadway, Telegraph Gallery Suite, Oakland, CA

This workshop is open to Switzer Fellows, their colleagues, and students.  Please share widely with your networks!

Participants will gain an understanding of how colonization has impacted our thinking and the ways that we engage one another and the world around us.  We will look at how the use of language has fostered separation and oppression among peoples and with the natural world, our relationship to the sources of our survival, ritual and ceremony, economy and ecology, and states of dependence.  Each of these themes can inform our understanding of the systems of governance within which we live and work, and how we can offer insights into how we can re-imagine new models of cooperation and reciprocity.  

Sherri Mitchell is a Penobscot Tribal Member, author, activist, lawyer and spiritual leader.  Her recent book, Sacred Instructions, speaks to ways in which we can build connection to indigenous wisdom and to heal our relationships with each other and with the earth.

Pre-registration is required (there will be a $20 fee plus a very small surcharge for online registration).  Lunch will be provided.  Space for up to 50 participants.  Please contact Laine Kuehn, Administrative Coordinator, if cost a barrier for you or a colleague.

For more information

In July's E-News, we mentioned some updates to the Leadership Grant Program, including a reduction in the maximum award amount to $25,000 (from $40,000), and a probable change to the grant cycle deadlines.

As of now, we are maintaining the $25K max, and there will be one grant cycle this fiscal year, in the spring.  Deadlines will be as follows:

If you are interested in pursuing a potential Leadership Grant, please contact Erin to discuss.  If anything else changes with regard to this year's grant programs, we will let you know right away.