Coyote-Maestas Affiliated Outreach Work

Being a part of the HHMI Gilliam Program inspired Willow to try to make science supportive to people from all backgrounds as well as work to make it so benefits of scientific discovery and breakthroughs are more broadly shared. Below is a small sampling of some of the work Willow is involved in.

Full Circle Native in Biology Symposium

Native Americans are massively underrepresented within science for many reasons. A fundamental challenge to Native scientists is many of us never meet another Native American within our disciplines. With a team of UCSF staff, students, and faculty, Willow organized a basic biology-focused event, The Full Circle Native Symposium, which was the first of its kind symposium for Native discovery biologists. Full Circle aims to build community amongst Native scientists, provide a platform to present work, and give trainees meaningful opportunities. In 2021, we virtually brought together nearly 20 Native scientists from across the country and tribes, including undergraduates, grad students, postdocs, junior, and elder (emeritus) faculty. Our second Full Circle Symposium was held in-person at UCSF in January 2023, in which we brought together over 20 Native scientists from across the country and from different tribes. Thus far this symposium has provided a much needed space and community for Native scientists to share their identities and science.

Moving forward, we are exploring how to start holding this event in other areas of the country where there are larger Native populations with support from institutions within those communities