We need more complex and more diverse concepts of what science is and who does science if
we're ever going to solve the problems that we're facing in the 21st century.
I think there's a lot of aspects of science to destroy as we know it.
We need to blow it up because it needs to be remade in a way that works for people.
New Science is an exhibit both here on the public floor at the California Academy of Sciences
but also in digital form through the Google Arts and Culture platform,
which is an exhibit focusing on
the stories of 23 incredible individuals who all have identities that intersect with scientists,
but also with being persons of color, in many cases being immigrants, being women,
or being people who are transgender or gender non-conforming,
but working in STEM and being really successful in doing so.
Often times things about our identities leave us feeling othered.
And that otherness makes people feel like they're allowed to question the way that you do science,
the interpretations that you make, or just the quality of your science itself.
And often times those things go really understated or unrecognized in the moment
and it's only later on, as they accumulate in your mind,
that you begin to doubt your ability as a scientist.
And I think for me this is really why it's important to have visibility; it's important
to have strong role models that are out there whose identity you identify with;
that tells you that you're not alone; that there is a place for you
and that your opinion and your identity as a scientist is valued.
Not in spite of those attributes that you bring, but because of them.
We've now founded Black in Marine Science and we have
truly built an organization that's aimed to celebrate Black marine scientists,
spread environmental awareness, and inspire the next generation of scientific thought leaders.
And that's what we really want to do—change the face of who people see as scientists.
What we see in AI is that major AI labs kind of support a lot of types of domination—
either financial domination or kind of military or security-based domination.
I'm an Arab American trans woman so that already means by feature of being Arab,
my body and my person is already under increased scrutiny after 9-11.
And the fact that I'm trans furthers and deepens that kind of suspicion.
Holding these identities makes me very critical of these systems
and offers me kind of a lens in a way of thinking about how we can push back and challenge them.
I don't view myself as a conventional scientist but like that shouldn't be the case because what
does a scientist look like? I want to create like a space so that people who are like me, people who
are queer, who have many marginalized identities, who don't normally see themselves as scientists,
to like look at yourself and be like, yeah, you are one and like you are more powerful than other
conventional scientists because you have these awesome ideas and you have this awesome community.
The ocean is literally on fire. So what are we doing to change that? I think it really is
going to take leaders that look like all types of people, but also leaders that are in differences
in ages, differences in abilities, differences in thought. Because it's going to take everyone.
My vision for New Science is a science that doesn't have barriers, and the barriers that have been
placed are actively worked to be broken down. And that there is truly and sincerely access for all.
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