jedi-corner.yml

- title: "Statistics, Science Organizations Foster DEI in Wider Community"
  author: David Corliss
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/09/02/jedileaders/
  intro: The statistical community embraces a wide variety of interests and includes many organizations that express a strong commitment to the principles and actions of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. This month, JEDI Corner looks at some of these groups and highlights their DEI initiatives. 
  date: 09/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/corliss.jpeg
  alt: Photo of David Corliss

- title: "Statistical Support Needed for Workplace DEI"
  author: David Corliss
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/08/01/jedisupport/
  intro: As programs promoting diversity, equity, and an inclusive (DEI) workforce become widespread, the need for analytic support for these initiatives has grown, as well.
  date: 08/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/corliss.jpeg
  alt: Photo of David Corliss

- title: "JEDI at JSM"
  author: David Corliss
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/07/01/jedi-at-jsm/
  intro: The JEDI Outreach Group is the primary or co-sponsor for 11 sessions at the 2024 Joint Statistical Meetings, with leading researchers and emerging leaders covering a wide variety of interests. In all, there are almost 40 presentations, meetings, and other events focusing on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
  date: 07/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/corliss.jpeg
  alt: Photo of David Corliss

- title: "Checking In: LGBTQ+ Advocacy Committee"
  author: Suzanne Thornton
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/06/03/lgbtqcommittee/
  intro: The ASA LGBTQ+ Advocacy Committee is hosting a webinar titled “An Interdisciplinary Look at Trans and Gender-Non-Conforming Inclusion in STEM” June 12 at 6 p.m. ET.
  date: 06/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/june2024-jedi-corner.png
  alt: Photo of Suzanne Thornton

- title: "JEDI Initiatives Alive in Clinical and Translational Science"
  author: Leigh Johnson
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/05/01/jedi-corner-clinical-translational-science/
  intro: According to the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, translational science is the process of turning laboratory and clinical findings into community interventions that improve public and individual health and generate scientific and operational innovations. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science was founded in 2009 to facilitate translational science research activities and support the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program. The awards are given to medical institutions that possess translational science expertise and provide effective education, support research, offer mentorship, and participate in translational science advocacy, in addition to demonstrating a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
  date: 05/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/may2024-jedi-corner.jpg
  alt: Photo of Leigh Johnson
  
- title: "JEDI Leaders on Leadership: A Conversation with Kimberly Sellers and Talithia Williams"
  author: Kimberly Sellers and Talithia Williams
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/04/01/jedi-leaders-on-leadership/
  intro: The Conference on Statistical Practice in February included a panel session on data-driven leadership featuring outstanding African American female leaders in statistical science. The panel was organized and moderated by Emma Benn of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Panelists included Kimberly Sellers from North Carolina State University and Talithia Williams from Harvey Mudd College. Monica Jackson from American University was also scheduled to be on the panel but was unable to attend.
  date: 04/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/april2024-jedi-corner.png
  alt: Photo of panel members
  
- title: "Building Successful Mentor/Mentee Relationships in the Hybrid Work Era"
  author: Michael Dumelle and Therri Usher
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/03/01/jedimentor/
  intro: It is no secret that many institutions are embracing remote and hybrid working environments. This change has far-reaching implications, including for how statisticians and data scientists initiate and build their careers.
  date: 03/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/march2024-jedi-corner.png
  alt: Photo of webinar moderators and speakers
  
- title: "Critical Race Theory and Statistical Analysis: What You Need to Know"
  author: Emily Griffith
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/02/01/critical-race-theory-statistical-analysis/
  intro: Good statistical practice involves understanding the frameworks in which we obtain data, perform inference, and apply findings. One such framework, critical race theory, is widely known, widely criticized, and equally widely misunderstood. Critical race theory (CRT), is a legal and academic framework that considers the role of systematic racism in American society.
  date: 02/01/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/crt-jsm.jpeg
  alt: Photo of session speakers following JSM session
  
- title: "JEDI, CAUSE Team to Offer Resources for JEDI-Informed Teaching"
  author: Jo Hardin and Jennifer Ward
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/01/04/jedi-cause-website/
  intro: If you have been reading the JEDI Corner over the last few years, you know members of the JEDI Outreach Group have worked to make the group an umbrella organization for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in all things statistics and data science. Some of the original JEDI committee members are also actively involved in educational work and revitalizing their classrooms with a JEDI lens.
  date: 01/04/2024
  image: images/jedi-corner/jedi-cause-image.png
  alt: Screenshot from JEDI CAUSE website with article titled "Critical Values and Transforming Data, Teaching Statistics with Social Justice"
  
- title: "JSM 2023 Offers Ideas, Inspiration for 2024 Sessions"
  author: David Corliss
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/12/01/jedijsm2023/
  intro: Each year, the Joint Statistical Meetings brings together the largest group of statisticians and data scientists in North America. Since the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Outreach Group’s establishment in 2021, JSM has also become a focus of the group’s activities. Now that the 2023 conference is a wrap, it’s time to plan for next year, when the JEDI community will once again come together to share, teach, meet old friends, and make new friends.
  date: 12/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/corliss.jpeg
  alt: Author photo of David Corliss

- title: "JSM Session Touches on Equity"
  author: Brian Tarran
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/11/01/jedi-corner-jsm-session-equity/
  intro: Filter bubbles. Echo chambers. Groupthink. All things we are told to watch out for, steer clear of, or break out from. Nowadays, though, we hear less about the dangers of ‘vicious circles’—yet the dangers have not receded.
  date: 11/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/brian-tarran.jpeg
  alt: Author photo of Brian Tarran
  
- title: "WNAR Session Explores Race, Ethnicity, Ancestry in Statistics"
  author: Yates Coley
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/10/02/wnar-jedi/
  intro: Among statisticians, there is increased interest in applying our methodological expertise to research related to racism and race-based inequities. However, many in the field lack training or experience in conducting this research in a way that advances racial equity and justice. 
  date: 10/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/wnar_race_ethnicity_webinar.jpg
  alt: First slide for Mariah Tso's talk, titled "Decoding race"
  

- title: "The Math Alliance"
  author: David Goldberg, Jacqueline Hughes-Oliver, Leslie McClure, and Javier Rojo
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/09/01/the-math-alliance/
  intro: The Math Alliance is a national mentoring community of faculty (mentors) and students (scholars) focusing on increasing traditionally excluded American minorities in the quantitative sciences professions.
  date: 09/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/grad-fair-pic.jpg
  alt: Photo of attendees picking up graduate fair materials at Field of Dreams Conference registration table
  
- title: "JEDI at JSM 2023"
  author: Yates Coley
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/08/01/jedi-at-jsm-2023/
  intro: This year’s Joint Statistical Meetings will take place August 5–10 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Outreach Group is sponsoring or co-sponsoring more than a dozen activities showcasing work to promote JEDI in the practice and profession of statistics.
  date: 08/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/jsm-logo.png
  alt: JSM 2023 logo

- title: "Fund Set Up to Kick-Start Community for Underrepresented People in Statistics"
  author: Michael Tsiang
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/07/01/jedicorner_fund/
  intro: I am lucky to have my dream job working in the department of statistics at the University of California, Los Angeles. My mom worked at UCLA as a librarian for 40 years; I grew up on this campus, and it has always felt like home. I love what I do, and I have a department of faculty, staff, alumni, and students who make me feel like I belong every single day. However, there’s a phrase that has come back to me many times over the last few years--This moment is not about me. Though I feel safe in my current position, I have been in other STEM environments in which I did not feel welcome for reasons completely unrelated to my intelligence or competence in the field. I felt invisible and marginalized—a second-class citizen.
  date: 07/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/jedi-corner-2023-july.JPG
  alt: Photo of Michael Tsiang
  
- title: "Beyond the Myth of ‘Hard to Reach’: Considerations for Engaging LGBTQIA+ Communities"
  author: Yates Coley
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/06/01/lgbtqiaplusweb/
  intro: It is commonly believed that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual populations are “hard to reach” for research participation. Not so, say the three expert presenters for the ASA LGBTQ+ Advocacy Committee’s inaugural webinar, “Sociocultural and Analytical Considerations for Engaging LGBTQIA+ Communities.”
  date: 06/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/jedi-corner-2023-june.jpeg
  alt: Graphic illustration with two cartoon dialogue bubbles, one square and one round. Dialogue bubbles have horizontal rainbow stripes in the background and a white heart shape in the center.

- title: "Student Travel Funding Needed to Impove Access to Profession"
  author: Therri Usher, Lydia Gibson, Brittney Bailey, Yates Coley
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/05/01/student-travel-funding-equity/
  intro: Broad exposure to the field, good mentorship, and a strong network are essential to career development. Early access to conferences creates opportunities for students to establish relationships and explore the field. For students with marginalized identities, a conference may be the first place they encounter other statisticians with similar identities, which could contribute to a sense of belonging in the field. However, equitable accessibility to conferences is not always available for these students. The financial cost of attending conferences is often a prohibitive factor.
  date: 05/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/jedi-corner-may2023.jpg
  alt: Screengrab of JEDI Corner page from Amstat News
  
- title: "Biostatistics Program Gives Students Real-World Experience"
  author: Alexandra Hanlon, Ryann Kolb, and Alicia Lozano
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/04/01/jedi-corner-va-tech-cube/
  intro: The Collaborative Undergraduate Biostatistics Experience (CUBE) is gearing up for its second year at Virginia Tech this summer. CUBE exposes undergraduate STEM students, specifically those who are part of an underrepresented/minority population, to the data science and collaborative biostatistics fields.
  date: 04/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/jedi-corner-april.png
  alt: Photo of CUBE 2022 Virginia Tech interns Kinara Gasper and Kayla Williams

- title: "A Year in Review: JEDI Student and Young Professionals Committee"
  author: Lydia Gibson
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/03/01/jedistudent/
  intro: The Student and Young Professionals Committee of the ASA Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Outreach Group was established in 2022 to address the unique challenges faced by students and young professionals—those within five years of their highest terminal degree—as they navigate the statistics community. The committee provides students and other early-career folks the opportunity to build a diverse, inclusive, and respectful community to connect and share ideas with like-minded individuals as they develop their career aspirations.
  date: 03/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/Gibson_Lydia.jpeg
  alt: Photo of Lydia Gibson

- title: "Suggestions for Combining Secondary Data Analysis and Community-Based Research"
  author: Claire Morton
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/02/01/combining-secondary-data-analysis-and-community-based-research/
  intro: We are living in an explosion of publicly available data. A huge amount of information is released in publications and publicly available surveys, updated data-sharing policies frequently require primary data to be accessible, and advancing technology facilitates more sophisticated analyses. All this data has power—power to affect all areas of policy, influence decision-makers, and, ultimately, tell people’s stories.
  date: 02/01/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/morton-jedi-corner.jpeg
  alt: Photo of Claire Morton

- title: "From Visualization to 'Sensification'"
  author: Andrew Gelman and Gwynn Sturdevant
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2023/01/02/jedi-corner-sensification/
  intro: Statisticians and analysts use visualization tools to not just sell their work with pretty pictures, but to find problems with their models and construct new procedures as part of data-analysis workflow. But visualization excludes people with visual impairments, an increasingly important issue as the population gets older. How can statisticians and analysts provide some of the benefits of the dataviz revolution? 
  date: 01/02/2023
  image: images/jedi-corner/jan-23.png
  alt: Screengrab of JEDI Corner page from Amstat News

- title: "Achieving Diversity in Labor Market Needs JEDI, Advocacy Groups"
  author: Joseph Gastwirth
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/12/01/labormarket/
  intro: The Civil Rights movement, which led to the desegregation of schools and the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1972, helped improve the economic status of Blacks relative to whites from the 1950s to the early 1980s. According to "Black-White Earnings Over the 1970s and 1980s, Gender Differences in Trends" in The Review of Economics and Statistics, however, socioeconomic disparities have persisted due to, in part, legal, governmental, and societal practices that systematically deny resources and opportunities to racial minorities. 
  date: 12/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/dec-22.png
  alt: Screengrab of JEDI Corner page from Amstat News

- title: "Putting Our JEDI Values into Action: It's Past Time for a Chinese-American ASA President"
  author: David Banks
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/11/01/jedi-corner-chinese-american/
  intro: I am very proud of the ASA for its recent JEDI initiative and the Anti-Racism Task Force. Both make the association better and fairer, but they also introduce complexity. It is easy to say we oppose racism and inequity, but operationalizing such principles is not straightforward. As a specific example, I point to the fact that the ASA has never elected a statistician of Chinese descent as its president.
  date: 11/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/BOD-David-Banks150x200.jpg
  alt: Photo of David Banks

- title: "Finding Ada: Identifying, Engaging, and Empowering Women in Statistics and Data Science"
  author: Kelly H. Zou
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/10/01/finding-ada-jedi/
  intro: Ada Lovelace Day falls on October 12 every year. According to the website Finding Ada, it "is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM).” In terms of its purpose and outreach on and beyond Ada Lovelace Day, “it aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and, in doing so, create new role models who will encourage more girls into STEM careers and support women already working in STEM."
  date: 10/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/Zou_Kelly-copy-150x150.jpg
  image-alt: Photo of Kelly Zou

- title: "Disabilities as Assets and Strengths"
  author: Shu-Min Liao, Chuck Coleman, Ryan Machtmes, Peter Flom, Erin Chapman, and Anja Zgodic
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/09/01/disabilities/
  intro: As stated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Disability impacts all of us.” More than a quarter of the US population has some type of disability, many of which are invisible (e.g., chronic illness or learning disabilities) or doubly invisible (e.g., struggles with social cues). Over the past decade, societal understanding of disability has increased. Whereas the focus used to be on limitations brought on by disability, today’s understanding and study of disability looks at the positive aspects disabled individuals add to their communities.
  date: 09/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/liao.jpg
  alt: Photo of Shu-Min Liao

- title: "So Much to Do, So Little Time"
  author: Jana Asher
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/08/01/jedi-corner-jsm2022/
  intro: By the time you read this article, the 2022 Joint Statistical Meetings in Washington, DC, will either be about to start or underway. This month’s article introduces readers to the plethora of JSM sessions and events either co-sponsored by the JEDI Outreach Group or related to JEDI initiatives.
  date: 08/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/Asher-Option-2.jpg
  alt: Photo of Jana Asher

- title: "Keep Your Receipts: How Early-Career Statisticians Can Navigate Conferences"
  author: Boyi Guo and Sarah Samorodnitsky
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/07/01/early-career-navigate-conferences/
  intro: A key component of advancing JEDI in our profession is ensuring that all students and young professionals have access to the knowledge and resources needed to benefit from new and perhaps unfamiliar professional activities. This month’s JEDI Corner from two student contributors offers practical advice to junior statisticians preparing for their first conference experience.
  date: 07/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/JEDI-Boyi-Guo.jpg
  alt: Photo of Boyi Guo

- title: "Statistics Education and Reconsidering the Status Quo"
  author: Suzanne Thornton
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/06/01/jedi_june22/
  intro: Imagine an introductory statistics instructor is teaching students about categorical variables, maybe even discussing how to include these variables in a linear regression model. To keep her students engaged, the instructor asks the students to think about the difference between categorical and numeric variables and solicits examples. The first student to raise their hand confidently exclaims “gender!”
  date: 06/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/suzanne-thornton.jpg
  alt: Photo of Suzanne Thornton

- title: "Promoting Diversity in Data Repository Research"
  author: Stephanie Cook and Erica P. Wood
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/05/02/jedi-corner-may-22/
  intro: The National Institutes of Health is investing resources in constructing secure data repositories in which researchers and community members are able to use publicly available data. One such program is the NIH’s All of Us Research Program, which has expanded its Researcher Workbench to include data contributed by more than 329,000 participants, about 80 percent of whom are from communities that have been historically underrepresented in biomedical research.
  date: 05/02/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/stephanie-cook.jpg
  alt: Photo of Stephanie Cook

- title: "Infusing DEI Learning Into an Elementary Statistics Class"
  author: Jana Asher
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/04/01/dei-elementary-statistics/
  intro: For many years, a small group of dedicated faculty members at Slippery Rock University, in Pennsylvania, have been lobbying for a diversity education requirement for undergraduate students. This diversity requirement would be fulfilled through completion of one of several specially designated courses to ground student learning in principles related to equity and inclusion. I joined this faculty group just as success was on the horizon, and I helped structure an online training for the faculty that would be creating and teaching the new “diversity designated” courses.
  date: 04/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/Asher-Option-2.jpg
  alt: Photo of Jana Asher

- title: Increasing JEDI in Clinical Trials
  author: Godwin Yung and Dooti Roy
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/03/01/jedi_clinicaltrials/
  intro: Statistical practitioners in the biopharmaceutical area gather at the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section Regulatory-Industry Statistics Workshop (BIOP) every September to engage in conversations about contemporary topics of importance. Having heard the health disparities taking place in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and being industry statisticians ourselves, we decided to host a roundtable at this year’s conference on increasing JEDI in clinical trials—a related but wider topic.
  date: 03/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/godwin-yung.jpg
  alt: Photo of Godwin Yung

- title: Cochairs Discuss Plans for Student and Young Professionals Committee
  author: Robert A. Tumasian III and Lydia Gibson
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/02/01/young-professionals/
  intro: This month, The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Corner is spotlighting the incoming cochairs of the Student and Young Professionals Committee—Robert Tumasian III and Lydia Gibson—and asking them a few questions about themselves and their visions for the committee in 2022.
  date: 02/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/robert-tumasian.png
  alt: Photo of Robert A. Tumasian III

- title: "At the Rise of JEDI: Lessons Learned from Fall of Jedi Order in Star Wars"
  author: Shu-Min Liao
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/01/01/jedi-lessons-learned-star-wars/
  intro: This summer, I enjoyed the fun of watching all three Star Wars trilogies in chronological order with my nine-year-old boy. He is finally old enough to enjoy those films with me; plus, not being able to travel during the pandemic gave us time (or excuses?) to watch all the movies on nine Friday nights.
  date: 01/01/2022
  image: images/jedi-corner/liao.jpg
  alt: Photo of Shu-Min Liao

- title: "Caucus for Women in Statistics Celebrates 50 Years"
  author: Donna Brogan, Nairanjana Dasgupta, Amanda Golbeck, Wendy Lou, and Motomi Mori
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2021/12/01/cws/
  intro: The Caucus for Women in Statistics (CWS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Formed in 1971 before “JEDI” became an acronym known to all, CWS has been on the forefront of giving a voice to women in statistics and offering support, mentorship, friendship, and a safe space for discussion about challenging and often difficult topics faced by women.
  date: 12/01/2021
  image: images/jedi-corner/cws.png
  alt: 50th anniversary logo design for the Caucus for Women in Statistics, 1971-2021

- title: "Statistics for Equity: Capturing, Not Masking, Intersectional Dynamics in Data"
  author: Stephanie H. Cook, Suzanne Thornton, Samantha E. Robinson, James J. Cochran, and Godwin Yung
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2021/11/01/the-jedi-corner-statistics-for-equity-capturing-not-masking-intersectional-dynamics-in-data/
  intro: Statistics is the language of data. Just like any other language, statistics requires structure and rules for interpreting messages from data. However, statistics poses additional communications challenges, as it depends on one’s written language, which is always rife with nuances. Hence, the effectiveness of statistics for communicating concepts from data (e.g., selecting, understanding, and interpreting statistical models) also depends on one’s written language acuity.
  date: 11/01/2021

- title: "The JEDI Corner: How to Help Advocate for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion"
  author: Kimberly F. Sellers
  href: https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2021/10/01/jedi-corner-october-2021/
  intro: The year 2020 proved to be a watershed period in our society, given the dual epidemics of health disparities and racism. It brought many underlying issues regarding justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion to the forefront, such that people could no longer turn a blind eye to them.
  date: 10/01/2021