"Elz DeVito (they/them/theirs), Dr. Jed Brubaker (he/him/his), Aisha Nammari (she/her/hers), Dr. Scott Taylor (he/him/his), Arielle Blum (she/her/hers)."

For the 2022 oSTEM Symposium, we hosted a panel with a mixture of academic and non-academic speakers who spoke about being queer in their workplaces. See below for information on our incredible panelists!

Interested in attending an oSTEM Symposium? The Symposium is hosted every spring semester. Details are posted on our , and on the oSTEM Symposium ±è²¹²µ±ð.Ìý

Have an idea for our next Symposium? Email us (ostemboard@colorado.edu) with your suggestions!

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About the Panelists

A picture of Elz DeVito, a white feminine-presenting person with black and blonde curly hair covered by a black hat.

Elz DeVito

Elz deVito (they/them) works as an electrical engineer at LASP (Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics) and works to develop hardware for Space instrumentation. Outside of work they like to stay active, whether that’s through circus arts, being in nature or socializing with friends.

A square picture of Dr. Jed Brubaker, a white man with close cut brown hair and glasses.

Dr. Jed Brubaker

Jed Brubaker is a Founding Assistant Professor of the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the director of CU’s Identity Lab where he and his collaborators conduct research in digital identity, social computing, human-computer interaction focusing on how identity is designed, represented, and experienced in technical systems. He conducts this research across three domains: groups marginalized by technology design (e.g., LGBTQ+ minorities), the design of human-centered A.I., and mortality and technology. Brubaker holds a Ph.D. in Information and Computer Sciences from the University of California - Irvine, an M.A. in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University, and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Utah. During his career, he has worked at and collaborated with Microsoft, Intel, Facebook, and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

A square picture of Aisha Nammari, a white woman with pulled back brown hair.

Aisha Nammari

Aisha is an electrical engineer at LASP (Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics), has developed space flight hardware for the Hope Mars mission, and is currently working on an instrument that will fly on the ISS. She is an advocate for an inclusive and equitable workplace for LGBT people and other systematically excluded peoples at LASP.

A picture of Dr. Scott Taylor, a white man with short brown hair, holding two small birds.

Dr. Scott Taylor

Scott Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Director of the CU Boulder Mountain AVÃûʪ Station. AVÃûʪ in his group is focused on birds and on using natural hybrid zones and recent radiations to understand the genetic bases of traits involved in reproductive isolation, population divergence, and speciation, and the impacts of anthropogenic change, including climate change, on bird distributions, interactions, and evolution.

A picture of Arielle Blum, a white woman with long, curly brown hair, smiling.

Arielle Blum

Arielle Blum has a MS and BS in Electrical Engineering, and has been a faculty instructor with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at CU Boulder for almost 8 years and teaching for the dept. of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering for 2+ years. After being extremely ill and isolated, she turned to social networks to make new connections and taught herself how to develop webpages using html and CSS. Inspired by a lonely childhood steeped in sci-fi and video games, she decided to pursue a career making robots with the goal of one day starting her own educational electronic toy company which specializes in empowering children to make their own robotic friends. She spends her free time with her wife and 4-year old, friends, flying quadcopters, camping, and playing boardgames.