CEO Forums

CEO’s forum series brings together educators, practitioners, and researchers to address and discuss topics relating to STEM education and outreach. Forums are free and open to all. 

Recent forums can be viewed on CEO’s YouTube Channel.

Upcoming forums

Friday, February 25, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Leveraging campus-based tools to increase access to professional development opportunities and support student success. Navigating the higher education landscape can be challenging for students, as they balance their coursework, personal health and wellness, and professional development. However, opportunities to engage deeply with their field of study outside the classroom can be a great way to build a new skill set; connect with mentors and peers; and learn more about possible career pathways. At UC Berkeley, there are many organizations across campus that provide professional development opportunities for students. Some of these have one primary focus, while others (like those we will feature in this event) offer a suite of opportunities, each with their own application, program, and support structure. In this Forum, we will explore the ways that Cal NERDS and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships leverage their resources to support student success and serve the UC Berkeley community. The moderated discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with the audience. /// Panelists: Jessica Stewart, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships; Leah Carroll, Haas Scholars Program Manager/Advisor; Diana Lizarraga, Cal NERDS Executive Director (prostaff); Chris Noble, Cal NERDS Assistant Director (prostaff); Kseniya Usovich, Cal NERDS Graduate Student Director (Data Science); Jireh Andre Bitangila Kabukapua, Cal NERDS Undergraduate Student Director (Economics). CEO Event Organizers: Lisa White, Lizzie Hager-Barnard, and Laleh Coté. /// This event was recorded and is available on the CEO YouTube Channel.

Recent forums

December 7, 2021, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Engaging Youth in Place-based Climate Justice and Data Literacy in Geosciences. Young people around the world are demanding urgent action to address the ongoing climate change crisis, and some of the most innovative programs and collaborations are happening in the Bay Area community. These programs work to increase relevance and importance to youth and the general public with goals of supporting informed decisions to solve large-scale and local problems. Join us for a presentation about this exciting work and the chance to build additional collaborations in this area. /// Speakers: Aniya Butler, Hip Hop Coordinator for Youth vs Apocalypse, Sarah Pedemonte, Senior Professional Learning Lead, Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley; Kamille Lang, Sustainability Specialist, Office of Sustainability, San Mateo County. CEO Event Organizers: Vanessa Lujan, Kalie Sacco, Dione Rossiter. 

 

April 27, 2021, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Gold Star Examples of Faculty who are Broadening Participation in STEM through Education and Outreach. While the US continues to become a more diverse nation, STEM continues to be exclusive to historically minoritized groups, leading to loss of talent and perpetuating systems of class and oppression. Broadening participation within STEM is more critical than ever. Join us and hear how three outstanding researchers — all at different levels of their careers and within various disciplines — have successfully planned, executed, and sustained broadening participation activities into their careers as scientists. What are their recommendations for young researchers who want to integrate meaningful outreach into their work? What are their recommendations for community partners who wish to collaborate with researchers? What makes a successful partnership? How have they utilized both campus infrastructure and community resources? Come and get knowledge, insights, and advice from those who have built successful, long lasting, and impactful outreach programs. /// Speakers: Deb Agarwal, Senior Scientist and Data Science and Technology Department Head, Berkeley Lab; Kwabena Bediako, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, UC Berkeley; Ron Cohen, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Department of Earth and Planetary Science, UC Berkeley. CEO Event Organizers: Faith Dukes, Dione Rossiter, Kate Spohr. /// This event was recorded and is available on the CEO YouTube Channel.

March 17, 2021, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Life during COVID-19: Perspectives from STEM majors at UC Berkeley. This panel discussion will be centered around the undergraduate experience at UC Berkeley during the current academic year when most lectures, labs, discussion sessions, and exams have been conducted remotely. Five students from different STEM disciplines will discuss how COVID-19 has impacted their learning, research, and academic support/advising. What are the challenges and benefits of distance learning, for both instructors and students? The panel will be moderated by a graduate student who worked as a GSI in Fall 2020. /// Moderator: Anthony Garcia, 1st-year doctoral student, Chemistry, he/him. Speakers: Yueyi Che, 3rd-year undergraduate, Geology, she/her; Adriana Guzman, 3rd-year undergraduate, Psychology, she/her; Julio Jaramillo, AppliedMathematics, he/him; Susana Torres-Londono, recent graduate, Physics, she/her. CEO Event Organizers: Laleh Coté, Kate Spohr. This event was recorded and is available on the CEO YouTube Channel.

December 15, 2020, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Distance Learning, Virtual Outreach & COVID: How to Design Effective Programs. The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on the education field, including rapidly accelerating the trend toward distance learning. How can those working in informal education, science communication, and STEM outreach contend with this trend? In what ways can they support educators (both formal and informal) facilitating distance learning? How does distance learning complement or compete with the goals of informal education and outreach programs? Our expert panel will delve into how they have adjusted, collaborated, and adopted new ways of working in the virtual space. /// Speakers: Megan Ennes, Assistant Curator museum education, University of Florida; Reyna Lee Hamilton, Manager School Programs at Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley; Ziada Tewelde, Senior Program Manager, Graduate Student Teaching and Resource Center, UC Berkeley; Lisa White, Director of Education and Outreach, UC Museum of Paleontology, UC Berkeley. /// This event was recorded and is available on the CEO YouTube Channel.

November 17, 2020, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Systemic Racism in Science Communication. The importance of increasing public understanding of scientific issues has never been more critical, yet many marginalized communities are not only disproportionately affected by these issues (like health and the environment), they are also not well-served by mainstream science media or traditional educational systems and are faced with long-lived cultural and societal prejudices that perpetuate inequality. By directly involving specific communities in the science communication processes, addressing issues of increasing importance to the communities, and presenting scientific role models and spokespersons from within those communities, we can begin to ensure that science communication and education really are available and accessible to all. This presentation is intended for scientists at all career stages and for anyone who communicates science to public audiences and is interested in race and equity. /// Presenter: Dione Rossiter, Executive Director of Science, Science at Cal. /// Contact Dione directly for access to this presentation.

October 13, 2020, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Outreach & Engagement in a Time of Distancing. This forum highlights examples, best practices, and lessons learned from the past 6 months of adapting in-person programs to distance-based outreach and engagement with K-12 learners. The session will include a blended panel presentation plus Q & A. /// Moderator: Faith M. Dukes, PhD, Manager of K-12 STEM Education Programs, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Panelists: Courtenay Carr Heuer, Executive Director, Scientific Adventures for Girls; Anne Sawiris, Site Director, SMASH Berkeley; Tyler Chuck, Senior Outreach & Engagement Manager, Community Resources for Science. /// This event was recorded and is available on the CEO YouTube Channel.

September 3, 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Belonging and inclusion: improving Berkeley Chemistry’s academic climate. Leaders in Berkeley’s Department of Chemistry discuss collaborative, data-driven efforts to improve academic climate and sense of belonging. Co-presented by the Department of Chemistry and CEO. /// Speakers: Chrissy Stachl, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Chemistry; Matt Francis, Department of Chemistry Chair and Professor of Chemistry; Anne Baranger, Director of Undergraduate Chemistry and Teaching Professor of Chemistry. Moderator: Monica Albe, Graduate Student Services Advisor for the Department of Integrative & the Endocrinology Graduate Group. /// This event was recorded and is available on the CEO YouTube Channel.

CEO Forum Archive (2017-2020)

View descriptions of past CEO forums.

Forums are conceived, planned, and organized by the CEO Steering Committee, for CEO members. If you are interested in presenting a forum at CEO, please contact Chair Laleh Coté.