This week we will be joined by Dr Dessie Clark (she/her)!
Dessie completed her PhD in Community Sustainability at Michigan State University in 2020. Her doctoral work focused on evaluating community-based programs and organizations that serve survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). As such, Dessie is passionate about supporting those who have experienced discrimination, harassment, or abuse. Dessie is currently the Research Collaboration Coordinator for the University of Massachusetts’ ADVANCE Program. In this role, she focuses on institutional transformation by cultivating faculty equity, inclusion, and success, specifically for women and BIPOC faculty in STEM fields.
During Dessie's PhD, she reported complaints against her advisor including discrimination and harassment based on her disability (ADHD), stalking, research misconduct, human-subjects noncompliance, financial misspending, retaliation, and violations of her right to privacy under FERPA. She spent time reporting these issues within her institution and to other oversight bodies within the federal government. Dessie ended-up leaving her advisor, changing departments, and eventually graduating with her PhD, but not without learning a lot along the way. Since sharing her story, Dessie receives many messages and emails for help from graduate students who are navigating similar issues and are looking for advice. You can find out more about Dessie on her Twitter (@dessielclark) and Instagram (@dessieleec) accounts.
A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.
Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the YouTube live stream where we talk about maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. The podcast episodes are posted the Tuesday after the live stream!
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