500 Women Scientists

As you may have heard, last week we launched the the 500WS Summer of Op-Eds. Join with your pod and choose a topic relevant to your community and science. If you don't know where to start there will be a series of webinars, and check out our website for more info. Read on to find out more about what we've been up to. 

This week, we ask you to take the first steps to participate in 500 Women Scientist’s Summer of Writing. If that sounds overwhelming, don’t worry, we’ve partnered with two excellent resources, The Union of Concerned Scientists and Rise Stronger, and we’ve laid out a plan to help you organize! Here are our actions for this week:

This week on #meetascientist, Dr. Erica Frank shares her passion for advocacy and her efforts to jumpstart NextGenU.org, the world's first free university.

This week on #meetascientist, we get to know Emily Lescak, a member of the 500 Women Scientists leadership and coordinator for our Alaska pod. True to the 500WS mission, Emily has centered outreach and mentorship over the course of her career development. We're thrilled to share her research, outreach activities, and insights into the (surmountable) challenges facing women in STEM.

Thanks to those of you who sent in suggestions on where to take our organization next. We have a few projects coming up for you in July, and will be hosting a pod webinar to encourage communication between the leadership and pods. Also, we want to hear what you all have been up! Make sure to tag us in your tweets or email us directly. Enjoy the weekend ladies! 

In light of the July 4th holiday yesterday, this week we ask you to take time by providing the Department of Interior with our expert scientific opinions about the 27 National Monuments up for review. 

500 Women Scientists has over 100 pods around the world, thanks in large part to Dr. Angie Pendergrass, our amazing Pod Coordinator and member of the leadership team. This week, get to know Angie on #meetascientist. She shares her passions for science and coalition building, as well as her love of adventure and the environment.

Winners... are not those who never fail, but... those who never quit. - Banksy

Our organization is full of winners and I can't believe another month has gone by with so many women organizing and pushing our agenda forward. Enjoy the weekend and give yourself the credit you deserve. 

Today for our #weeklyaction we want to focus on healthcare and family life. As the the Senate tries to push through a 'healthcare' bill that cuts funding to potentially over 20 million Americans, and largely takes healthcare services away from women.  

This week on #meetascientist, we get to know Philo Mbong. A virologist by training, Philo left Academia to bring science into the world of public policy. She shares how she found her way into science with her interest in reproductive health and how she manages to ground herself through all her science policy and advocacy activities (spoiler: she's a master of yoga).

Meet the London Pod! Their mission is centered on empowering Women and Non-binary scientists, through various awareness raising and outreach activities.

This week we encourage you to take action by educating, leading,  and setting an example for others:

"Much of the necessary knowledge is now available but we do not use it. We train ecologists in our universities and even employ them in our governmental agencies but we seldom take their advice." - Rachel Carson

We know girls rule the world, and this video sure drives that point home :). What activities are you doing this weekend while the boys sit alone at the bar? Happy Weekend Ladies! 

Out pods rock! This week we have two pod-related actions.  

The 500 Women Scientists leadership team and advisory board met at the University of Colorado Sustainability Innovation Lab to hone in on who we are as an organization, what we stand for, and what we want to accomplish in the coming weeks, months, and years.