The Crespi Lab is committed to providing research and scholarship opportunities to students of all genders, cultural, ethnic, or religious backgrounds, abilities, and socioeconomic status. We recognize the value that such diverse backgrounds bring into academia and understand the need to create more inclusive spaces for underrepresented individuals in science. As a lab group, we strive to uphold this commitment by educating ourselves on the issues that such underrepresented communities face and creating new policies for a safe and welcoming working environment. Individually, each of us has taken a direct role in this effort by serving on department and university-wide committees, taking on positions as representatives of our graduate student body, and becoming mentors for minority undergraduate groups on campus, including:

• Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
• McNair Scholars Program
• Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
• Scientista
• Association for Faculty Women
• Graduate Women in Science
• President’s Commission on the Status of Women (WSU)

We welcome new members who share these ideals, who are dedicated to uplifting others, and who will work to make the pursuit of science (or knowledge) a more equitable endeavor.