Islands of Opportunity Alliance—
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation

2021 LSMRCE Conference

October 2021 marked the 30th Anniversary of the of NSF Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and as part of the observances IOA-LSAMP was warmly invited by our valued affiliate the Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) to join them virtually at their annual conference, Empowering Diverse STEM Innovators, which was held October 22-24th.

The conference offered students, faculty mentors, educational researchers, and program administrators from across the LSAMP family to exchange knowledge and to cultivate a community of practitioners and scholars in the area of broadening the participation of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Students and administrators from across the Islands of Opportunity participated. Here are some of the highlights.

  • Dr. Helen Turner from Chaminade University (Co-PI on the grant) gave a presentation as part of the conference's professional breakout session titled "Data Science for Pacific Impact: Innovating Digital Research Opportunities To Prepare Pacific STEM Change Agents." She was joined by Dr. Rylan Chong, Johnny Alden, Dr. Chrystie Naeole, Dr. Alexander Stokes, and Dr. Mārata Tamaira.
  • Tiffany Rivera from Chaminade University won 1st place for her poster presentation titled "Heart Disease Cardiac Resources by Counties in the State of Hawai‘i."
  • IOA alumni Kainalu Steward, Adrian Ililau, and Frank Lujan participated in the "Graduate Stories" portion of the conference.
  • Joseph Genz participated in a virtual discussion titled "LSAMP - A Gamechanger in Cultivating STEM Talent."