​Lisa Hunt
A new Inclusive Diversity SETAC North America committee is being spearheaded by Latonya Jackson and Austin Gray, with a kickoff Meet and Greet to be held at the Annual Meeting in Sacramento in November! As the Northern California chapter president, I am very excited that this committee is getting started, and our entire Board of Directors is looking forward to working with the committee to figure out how we can better support and serve underrepresented groups in environmental sciences in our region. 
This is an important issue for me because I recently made a transition from working in consulting and government to an environmental nonprofit job, and after having lived and worked in the highly diverse San Francisco Bay Area for many years it has been an eye-opening experience to see how little diversity there is in most environmental nonprofits. Environmentalism is often seen as an elitist movement, and in fact historically people of color were often excluded and marginalized from this movement. It is time to change that. Like most of you, I am interested not just in the science side of things, but in utilizing my work to make the world a more sustainable place to live. In order to develop innovative solutions that will be implemented on a large scale with popular support, we need to include people from all backgrounds on our teams, and to value the diverse perspectives they bring.
We encourage all of you to come to support the committee and provide your input. Please note that you do NOT need to be a member of an underrepresented group to attend and show your support – all are welcome! You will have the opportunity to meet those involved with setting up the committee and find out more about it, and you can sign up to become a member, representative, supporter, or collaborator. In addition, many members of your local NorCal Chapter Board of Directors will be present, and we would love to hear your ideas on how we can improve inclusion and diversity in our chapter!

NorCal SETAC is attending the Bay-Delta Science Conference September 10th and 11th

There is certainly a great deal of crossover between the interests of the 10th Biennial Bay Delta Science Conference and the expertise of the NorCal Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). This year’s theme of “Our Estuary at an Intersection” highlights the crossroads of many disciplines in the management of the Bay-Delta. From ecological fluctuations in sensitive habitats to understanding the impacts of environmental contaminants in the waters of Northern California, our society’s members have regularly shared their work at this conference put on by the Bay Delta Science Program, the Bay Delta Stewardship Council, and the US Geological Survey. This year we are inviting our Bay-Delta colleagues to join us at the 39th Annual SETAC North America Conference being held right here in Sacramento this November 4th-8th.

Several of our board members are attending the Bay Delta Science Conference next week and in an effort to promote our upcoming SETAC North America conference, NorCal SETAC will be hosting a table at the poster presentations and socials at the Sacramento Convention Center. We are inviting our chapter members who are also planning to attend these sessions to stop by our table and help us welcome other conference participants and let them know SETAC means to you. It will be fun evening full of what NorCal SETAC does best: science and networking! We will have chapter representatives and some sweet treats available at our table during the following times:

Monday, September 10th
5:15 pm - 7:15 pm
Board members in attendance:
Bryand Duke
David Ostrach
Lisa Hunt

Tuesday, September 11th
5:15 pm – 7:15 pm
Board members in attendance:
Richard Connon
Krista Hoffman
Melissa Bolotaolo

Please email Bryand Duke at Bryand.Duke@wildlife.ca.gov for more information on these events. See you there!

More information about our upcoming SETAC NA conference in November can be found here. There is still time to register for SETAC NA! Stay tuned for conference details and highlights by checking this page or signing up for our mailing list here.


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