Queering STEM

The LGBTQ+ Committee of the ASCB invites you to join us in this celebration for Pride Month, in a very important discussion about LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion in Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM) and hear about the importance of being out and proud for yourself and others! Lauren Esposito, Ph.D., will discuss her career trajectory and why she decided to create a successful grassroots movement, called 500 Queer Scientists (www.500queerscientists.com), and how trainees, faculty and staff can be agents of change in their institutions.

Lauren Esposito is the Curator and Schlinger Chair of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences. Lauren’s current research investigates the patterns and processes of evolution in spiders, scorpions, and their venoms. Originally from the US-Mexico borderlands, she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at El Paso, and went on to obtain an MS and PhD from the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the City University of New York. Lauren is also the co-founder/director of a science, education, and conservation non-profit called Islands & Seas, and the co-creator of 500 Queer Scientists, a visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ people working in STEM careers. Lauren is also a passionate educator, and during her research expeditions across the globe, has organized educational programs on the importance of conserving biodiversity in local communities.