S3: E34: Diversity in the Deep Blue Sea with MEOPAR

Hey, Cis!

Diversity flows beneath the waters off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia and above the surface in Atlantic Canada. Alexa Goodman (They/Them) and Aaron Judah (He/Him) both with MEOPAR and ocean sciences; know the importance of inclusion and representation within STEM; and they're making waves.

It's a fast hour packed with great insight into inclusion and belonging and shifting the narrative in the Ocean Sciences and STEM. In this episode we chat with Alexa Goodman and Aaron Judah.

Join this conversation by taking part in our Connecting Communities Word Cloud! Show us how many diverse salty dogs we've out there tuning in!

Alexa Goodman (They/Them), is a marine manager passionate about doing good for our planet and its people by shifting awareness into action, using curiosity, compassion and strong project management to lead the way. They joined the MEOPAR team in May 2021 as Training Program Manager to equip the next generation of marine researchers with the knowledge and tools needed to excel in their careers. Alexa is a scientist, intersectional environmental activist, practising yogi, and a driving force in managing abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear, also called ‘ghost gear’.

Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Aaron (he/him/his) is a gay, mixed (Indian-Italian-Middle Eastern), bi-religious (Bene Israel Judaism-Roman Catholic) marine ecologist who focuses on the functionality of marine ecosystems under human impacts and global change. If you've ever scratched head around intersectionality and the impacts of minority identities with STEM and beyond.

Diving picts of Aaron in action alongside Alexa can be seen over at the BLOG along with our Community Connection Game. Read their full bios and more here.

SHOW NOTES:

Simply Good Form has been named a Finalist in the upcoming Halifax Chamber of Commerce New Business of the Year of Award! Check out all the amazing business finalists here. On November 11th, Cyn attended the CGLCC 2022 Business Leaders Awards as a Finalist in the Business Advocate of Year Award. Check out some photos from the night and see a long list of game-changers and incredible leaders from across Turtle Island.

This episode is hosted by Cyn Sweeney (She/Her) and Isaac Cook (He/They).

Cyn is a cis, straight beyond binary educator and author passionate about 'beyond binary' inclusion and breaking heteronormative and cisnormative practices. As a mother, storyteller and community writer, Cynthia is inspired by peoples stories - and listening fully. In 1998 Cynthia was told by a Supervisor that she has a 'tendency to go against the grain,' when it came to her 'drive to complete projects'. It wasn't meant as a compliment. Something her 28-year-old self couldn't realize at the time, was that this is one of her super powers. She's grateful everyday for the work she is doing.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Isaac Cook is a transgender, non-binary, queer person with a passion for making change. With a degree in Linguistics and Criminology, Isaac has more than seven years of communications, marketing and web development experience with a particular passion for STEM- focused and non-profit organizations. Outside of their work with Cyn at Simply Good Form Inc., Isaac enjoys cooking, travelling, astrology and hanging out with his dogs Aspen and Timber.

Produced and edited in-house.

Proudly sponsored by TD Bank Group.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/simply-good-form/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/SimplyGoodForm

MUSIC:

Hey, Cis! thanks musical artist Craymo for our intro/extro song: Be Myself

Written by: Craig Stephen Raymo/Brandon Jarrett/Joshua Daniel Hershfield (c) (p) 2015 Craymo Music, BMI/Moho Music, ASCAP

Website: http://www.Craymo.com