Committee for Strategic Initiatives

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Purpose

The Committee on Strategic Initiatives (CSI) is responsible for educating the SRI membership on diversity-related topics. Each year, the CSI will plan the Forum to take place at the Annual Meeting, as well as the SRI INSPIRES program, an effort to build the pipeline, which brings in local diverse high school students to introduce them to reproductive sciences. They will also work with the Membership and Nominations Committee to enhance the representation of elected officials, encourage diversity among SRI members and committee members, and will also assist in providing a wide variety of Annual Meeting speakers and session hosts. This committee will also have the option to meet in person at the SRI Annual Meeting.

 

Committee Members

Chair: Courtney Townsel, MD MSc- University of Maryland
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives: Genevieve Neal-Perry, MD, PhD- University of North Carolina SOM
Past Chair: Shathiyah Kulandavelu, PhD- University of Miami Miller SOM
Members:
Lorena Amaral, PhD- University of Mississippi Medical Center
Idhaliz Flores, PhD- Ponce Health Sciences University - Ponce Research Institute
Bo Rueda, PhD (Program Chair) - Massachusetts General Hospital
Michelle Debbink, MD, PhD- University of Utah
Carole McBride, PhD - University of Vermont
Stephen A. McCartney, MD, PhD - University of Washington
Owen Vaughan, PhD- University College London
Staff liaison: Leah Miller

Composition and Appointment

In addition to the Chair, VP for SI and other committee representatives, the ideal size for this committee would be 7-10 members.

The Vice President for Strategic Initiatives is an Executive Committee position and will focus on outward facing issues of diversity and inclusion, including but not limited to: partnerships with other organizations, maintenance of the SRI Strategic Plan as it relates to DEI, and communication/responses to issues of global social justice. This position primarily covers the areas of: Partnerships, Strategic Planning, Social Justice Advocacy, Data Management and more.

Additionally, the CSI requires that a minimum of 1 international member and 2 in training member sit on the committee, to best represent the scope of the committee’s work with SRI.

Responsibilities

• Attend 7 out of approximately 11 Zoom calls and communicate via email as needed to inform discussions and complete assigned tasks
• Serve on 1 other SRI committee as the CSI Representative, ensuring all committees keep diversity, equity and inclusion top of mind in their discussions

DEI Committee Work

Forum at Annual Meeting
Underrepresented Minority membership discount
Underrepresented Minority Annual Meeting registration discount application process
SRI Diversity statement/Strategic Plan