CEE Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in partnership with the

CEE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
is pleased to present

The Civil Empowerment Seminar Series:

Sandra K. Begay

Walking in Beauty on an Ever-Changing Path: A Navajo Woman's Perspective on an Engineering Career

April 6, 2022
Seminar: 12:00-12:50 PM | Clark Hall Forum (1101)
Student Workshop: 1:00-1:45PM | Hybrid format (Zoom)
Moderator: Dr. Jennifer Roberts, Associate Professor, UMD Department of Kinesiology

Sandra K. Begay, a principal member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, will share perspectives on the engineering field as it relates to a Navajo traditional philosophy known as Walking in Beauty, which supports being in harmony with all aspects of life.

The daughter of a Navajo tribal leader and a public health nurse, Begay is a member of the Navajo Nation and has been an engineer for 33 years. For much of her career, she has worked at Sandia, where she is a research and development engineer. Previously, Begay worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. She serves on the University of New Mexico Board of Regents as the Board’s Secretary / Treasurer.

She earned her bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of New Mexico (UNM), followed by a master of science from Stanford University in structural engineering with an emphasis in earthquake engineering.

Begay has enjoyed 20 years of unique work focused on providing technical assistance to U.S. tribes. She is featured in the American Society of Civil Engineers book Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers, where she is included in the chapter "Women in Power," describing her research in providing electricity through solar panels to hundreds of Navajo members. She is proud to have mentored 44 technical American Indian and Alaska Native college students.

Begay is a recipient of the 2021 Women in Technology Award fromthe NM Technology Council.

Moderator: Jennifer D. Roberts
Jennifer D. Roberts is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland College Park (UMD). Dr. Roberts is also the founder and director of the Public Health Outcomes and Effects of the Built Environment (PHOEBE) Laboratory as well as the co-founder and co-director of NatureRx@UMD, an initiative that emphasizes the natural environmental benefits interspersed throughout and around the UMD campus. Her scholarship focuses on the impact of built, social, and natural environments, including the institutional and structural inequities of these environments, on the public health outcomes of marginalized communities. More specifically, much of her research has explored the dynamic relationship between environmental, social, and cultural determinants of physical activity and using empirical evidence of this relationship to infer complex health outcome patterns and disparities as well as instigate a powerful shift that recognizes, breaks, and transforms these conditions and determinants of health.

Click Here to RSVP

The Civil Empowerment Seminar Series is sponsored byWRA. For questions, please contact Pam Lloyd atplloyd@umd.edu.

MISSION STATEMENT: Civil and environmental engineering is integral to everyday life for all people in our society, from drinking water and sanitation to the homes we live in and the roads we take. However, with devastating recent examples such as lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan and the disproportionately high mortality rates of COVID-19 in communities of color, it is clear that the beneficial work of civil and environmental engineers is not always equitably distributed. This seminar series aims to bring innovative and dynamic speakers to discuss their work in connection to current issues of social justice in civil and environmental engineering. These challenges are often complex, and will be assessed from the perspectives of people from academia, policy, industry, nonprofits, and government. Through this series, we aim to challenge our CEE community and beyond to view topics from different lenses and find creative and people-focused solutions to great civil and environmental engineering problems of today.

Speakers will be from both within and outside of civil and environmental engineering and represent a variety of backgrounds and identities. The talk will be open to all members of the UMD community. A short section of the talk will be open for a personal reflection by the speaker on career path, challenges overcome, and strategies for success.

Civil and environmental engineering is integral to everyday life for all people in our society, from drinking water and sanitation to the homes we live in and the roads we take. However, with devastating recent examples such as lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan and the disproportionately high mortality rates of COVID-19 in communities of color, it is clear that the beneficial work of civil and environmental engineers is not always equitably distributed. This seminar series aims to bring innovative and dynamic speakers to discuss their work in connection to current issues of social justice in civil and environmental engineering. These challenges are often complex, and will be assessed from the perspectives of people from academia, policy, industry, nonprofits, and government. Through this series, we aim to challenge our CEE community and beyond to view topics from different lenses and find creative and people-focused solutions to great civil and environmental engineering problems of today.

Speakers will be from both within and outside of civil and environmental engineering and represent a variety of backgrounds and identities. The talk will be open to all members of the UMD community. A short section of the talk will be open for a personal reflection by the speaker on career path, challenges overcome, and strategies for success.

Please see the flyer for the first seminar event here: Inaugural CEE DEI Seminar 102021

Dear CEE Students,

In the past few days, we have seen a surge in violence towards Asians and Americans of Asian descent across the country. The CEE DEI Chair, the Associate Chair for Graduate Programs, and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Programs strongly condemn this violence and we stand with our Asian and Asian-descent students. Some of our students are anxious and afraid, and we, as a department would like to offer support.

If you are a student that knows an Asian or Asian-descent student, please ask them how they are and offer your support;

Offer to accompany students that are afraid to walk on campus by themselves;

If you see something, say something;

Please reach out to the DEI Committee if you need any additional support.

Let's stand in unity against any violence that may reach the students of our department.

CEE DEI Chair, Associate Chair for Graduate Programs, Associate Chair for Undergraduate Programs.

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) establishes the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee and associate professor Birthe Kjellerup will serve as the Chair for the DEI Committee.

Current Committee Members:

Professor Birthe Kjellerup

Committee Chair

Amir Riyahi

CEE Graduate Student

Rubina Hasanat

CEE Undergraduate Student

Bilal Ayyub

CEE Faculty

Cleopatra White

CEE Staff

In 2020, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering established a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, consisting of volunteer faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate members. The committee meets once a month to have open, candid, and challenging discussions about DEI efforts across the department as well as the field of civil and environmental engineering at large.

Vision

Promote a culture of respect, equity and inclusiveness that allows all members of our community to thrive and succeed.
Promote and sustain a culture that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion as being essential to the mission and continued excellence.
Leadership in advocating effort in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Mission

Engage and empower students, faculty, and staff from underrepresented backgrounds, andto build toa diverse and inclusive community.
Encourage diversification of the department through education, advocacy, and outreach.
Raising awareness about conscious and unconscious bias, and working towards solving these bias.
Highlight available resources within the local community, and identify working solutions for potential issues that arise within our department. create a safe/supportive/ network inside the department.
Establishing modes/lines of communication between groups.