Erika L. Cyphert, PhD
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Initiatives
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
I strive to promote and create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable classroom and laboratory environment. Representation can strongly influence an individual's career choice and lack of representation can negatively influence underrepresented individuals to not pursue fields in which they may excel. Diversity means the inclusion of a wide range of individuals from different backgrounds and ensuring that everyone has equitable access to resources, education, and training and that everyone has an equal voice. Having a diverse classroom and work environment facilitates productive and insightful discussions. I believe that every faculty member should contribute to advancing equitable access to course materials. When designing courses, faculty need to be mindful and acknowledge the challenges that underrepresented groups face and tailor their course such that all students are included, respected, have their voices heard, and are provided with the tools necessary so that success is equitable.
Prior Educational Outreach Endeavors
Reach the World Program
2018, 2022: Volunteer Traveler in Reach the World Outreach International K-12 Educational Program (digital media storytelling/education)
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-Journey 1(2018): Erika's Journey to Poland | Reach the World) - Kindergarten class (Harry E. James Elementary School - Hopewell, Virginia)
-Journey 2 (2022): Erika's (Second) Journey to Poland | Reach the World) - Two first-grade classes (Public School 120 - Brooklyn, New York)
-I wrote weekly journal entries teaching students and exposing them to the culture of Poland - students come from predominantly underrepresented backgrounds
-The goal is to inspire and expose students from underrepresented backgrounds to the advantages of international education
Reach the World Journey 1
Reach the World Journey 2
Prior Endeavors promoting DEI
2018-2019
EducationUSA
Volunteer Consultant at EducationUSA (Warsaw, Poland) (US Dept. of State)
-I served as a volunteer with EducationUSA offering weekly consultations with Polish students that aimed to pursue studies in the US
-I guided them through the process of applying to universities in the US and to identify scholarships to help finance their studies
-Many of these students came from disadvantaged backgrounds
2016, 2018
National DNA Day
Volunteer National DNA Day (national annual outreach event)
-I have participated in National DNA Day where I visited local high schools of predominantly underrepresented students and led an interactive demonstration extracting DNA from strawberries
-The goal was to get students excited about pursuing science careers and to expose them to STEM career options
2014-2016
Youth Saturday Tutoring Program
Volunteer at Cleveland Church of the Covenant Community Youth Saturday Tutoring Program
-I served as a volunteer at a Saturday morning tutoring program which brought together K-12 students from local underrepresented communities in Cleveland, OH for 2-3 hours of tutoring on STEM topics
-I primarily worked with high school students tutoring in algebra, trigonometry, and science to increase students' confidence in these topics
Participation in workshops to improve understanding of DEI
-Cornell's Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) Institute on developing teaching portfolios (2021)Â - discussions regarding the importance of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion
-2019 Annual Fulbright Berlin Seminar workshops on Diversity and Bias where we learned about Diversity theory, stereotyping and prejudice, bias and micro-aggression, and power and privilege to be more conscientious and promote diversity-sensitivity.
Plans for advancing DEI as a faculty member
As an independent investigator and mentor, I will seek to hire and foster a diverse workplace. It is my ambition to merge my passions of biomaterials/microbiome and international education to train and educate a diverse range of students on the power of international scientific collaborations. I seek to make the application process to the Fulbright program more equitable for students from institutions that may not have resources to prepare applicants. As a first step, I have created a blog where I detail the Fulbright application process and provide examples of application materials. Check it out: How to apply for a Fulbright Student Research Grant and make the most of your time in your host country – How to apply for and win a Fulbright Research Grant (wordpress.com)