Bianca Silva Santos Honored with the Jasper Ridge Environmental Scholar’s Award
We are pleased to announce the 2022 Jasper Ridge Environmental Education Scholar Award: Bianca Silva Santos!
Bianca is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, where she focuses her research around science and policy for managing human impacts on highly migratory marine animals in the Pacific. Her research applies interdisciplinary methods from the fields of marine science, ocean governance and policy, and environmental decision-making. In addition to her research, Bianca has served as National Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow with NOAA and as a fisheries policy intern with the Food and Agriculture Organization. These experiences have solidified her practice as an outstanding STEM outreach advocate and science communicator.
Participants of the first Environmental Justice Working Group at Stanford retreat at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.
Bianca has brought new interdisciplinary initiatives to Jasper Ridge, by leading outreach efforts with the Environmental Justice Working Group (EJWG) at Stanford University. As the communications program director, Bianca created the website and social media as well as designing and sending out its quarterly newsletter. Bianca also played a key role in organizing the first EJWG retreat at Jasper Ridge. From the very early planning stages, Bianca helped to ensure a welcoming and inclusive experience for more than 30 participants for the EJWG to achieve its goal of designing the next steps for building environmental justice into research, teaching, and community engagement at Stanford.
Her dedication to connecting students to more research and educational activities extends beyond her own PhD research. For example, as soon as Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve safely re-opened its doors in 2021 to in-person educational and outreach activities, Bianca was key in organizing the Stanford Earth Summer Undergraduate Research Program and led an educational visit to the preserve. More than 20 students learned directly from Professor Rodolfo Dirzo and other docents about the history of Jasper Ridge and the variety of environmental science research in the preserve. Bianca also took the role of a Stanford Earth DEI Liaison and led a partnership with Jasper Ridge staff and docent Aiyana Washington to invite and host author and environmental activist Leah Thomas to speak with students during the 2022 Earthtones event.
Bianca’s nominators lauded Bianca’s impact not just to the Jasper Ridge community, but to the entire Stanford community: “In all instances, Bianca has demonstrated herself to be a highly creative individual and sensitive human being, guided by a deep sense of compassion, with a strong motivation to make a positive change in the world. Bianca is unquestionably an exceptional candidate for this award due to her continuous contribution to expanding education and collaboration opportunities, pillars of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve's mission.”
Congratulations Bianca!
