EDI Contacts in the Centre
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Dr Alexi Nott – LGBTQ+ Champion
"As a gay scientist, I have seen how creating a supportive environment on campus can have a huge impact on the experience of LGBTQ individuals in STEM. As the LGBTQ champion for the department, I hope to increase visibility and promote a welcoming and inclusive place to work.”
Alexi recently formed the LGBTQ+ Allies Network in the Department of Brain Sciences to promote LGBTQ+ visibility in the Department and to provide a bridge with the wider LGBTQ+ STEM community. Read more and keep up to date with events taking place on the Allies Network page.
Dr Diana Benitez Jimenez – Mental Health First Aider (MHFA)
“The MHFA training helped me to identify, understand and support colleagues who could be suffering from mental health issues. With this knowledge, I hope I can become a point of contact for students, ECRs and staff when they are experiencing emotional distress. I understand how draining or overwhelming the Academic/Research environment could be and sometimes we just need someone to listen non-judgmentally to feel better. I would like my colleagues in the UK DRI at Imperial know that I could be that person who will listen and if needed I could offer guidance to improve their well-being.”
Dr Jo Jackson – Athena Swan and EDI Lead
"I am the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead for the department and chair the People, Culture and Engagement committee to make the department a place where everyone has opportunities to thrive. We have recently been awarded a Silver Athena Swan award for our commitment to gender equality however we are aware that there is still work to do to support under-represented groups in science.
A significant amount of the EDI work involves ECRs and there is an opportunity to get involved with a cause that you feel passionate about. The department and the College offer a range of support involving staff networks (such as ImperialAsOne, Imperial 600, Able@Imperial, Women@Imperial), mentoring and coaching as well as training in areas such as unconscious bias and active bystander."