Symposium Summary: Actions and Dialog to Change Perceptions and Increase Engagement of Underrepresented Minorities in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

This panel and audience symposium engaged panelist and the audience in a discussion of personal stories, why they cared about increasing diversity and suggested steps to increase the welcoming of diverse cultures within AFS and the profession. The panel composition was of both AFS members and non-members. The moderator Mamie Parker, former assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was highly effective in engaging the audience and panelists.  Panel members were Running-Grass, regional environmental justice coordinator for USEPA in Seattle; Lekelia (Kiki) Jenkins from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington; and Zachary Penney, Fishery Science Department manager of the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission, Portland. Emmeline Moore Prize recipients attending included: Ambrose Jearld Jr., Gwen White, Christine Moffitt, Steve Lochmann, Bradford Brown, and Dionne Hoskins (this year’s recipient). The session was organized by members of the Hutton Committee, the Past President’s Council, and the Equal Opportunity Section. Participants and panelists identified the need for increased training regarding environmental justice and diversity within AFS leadership, and discussion of tools used by other professional societies to enhance mentoring and retention of “recruits” to the profession. The panelists and organizers are preparing an article for Fisheries detailing the dialog and proposed actions from the session. Other participants/organizers included Laura Tesler, Joy Young, Cindy A. Williams, Amy Unthank, Deena Anderson, Beverly Pike, and Brian Tracey. —Christine Moffitt, University of Idaho, [email protected]