PNW LSAMP CONFERENCE 2025
April 5-7, 2025 • Oregon State University
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
DR. KRYSTAL TSOSIE
Dr. Krystal Tsosie, PhD, MPH, MA (Diné/Navajo Nation) is a genetic epidemiologist and bioethicist and an Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. She is also Associate Director of the Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center at ASU. She also co-founded the Native BioData Consortium, an Indigenous-led biological data repository and 501c3 Tribal research nonprofit organization. Her research areas are specific to Indigenous communities and people in health, precision medicine, biodiversity genomics, and paleogenomics. She is also an expert in bioethics, data policy and governance, and developing digital data tools rooted in machine learning approaches to advance Tribal-led data-based bioeconomies. Her work is internationally covered in the media, and she is on ethical advisory boards for many national and international government and science policy organizations, including work with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the World Health Organization; the American Society of Human Genetics; and others.
DR. DAWN J. WRIGHT
Dr. Dawn Wright, a pioneering oceanographer, has made groundbreaking contributions to geographic information systems (GIS) and ocean floor mapping. Raised on the island of Maui, Hawaii, she developed a passion for marine exploration early in life, and throughout her career has been a vocal advocate for diversity in STEM and of early-career scientists. After 17 years as a professor of geography and oceanography at OSU, Dr. Wright was appointed in 2011 as Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (aka “Esri”), a world-leading mapping and spatial data science company. She has conducted research all over the world based on expeditions throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Southern Oceans. In 1991 she became the first Black female to dive to the ocean floor in the deep submersible Alvin. On July 12, 2022 she became the first Black person of any gender to dive to Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth. Dr. Wright is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. She holds an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Physical Geography and Marine Geology from UC-Santa Barbara, an M.S. in Oceanography from Texas A&M, and a B.S. cum laude in Geology from Wheaton College (Illinois). In 2007 she was named Oregon Professor of the Year.
GUADALUPE QUINN
Guadalupe Quinn is a seasoned community organizer, activist, and advocate with over 35 years of dedication to human rights and social justice. As a Mexican immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1951, Guadalupe’s experiences shaped her lifelong commitment to advocating for immigrant rights, racial equity, and worker justice. She has collaborated with notable organizations, including the NAACP, ACLU, and CAUSA Oregon, and has been instrumental in founding and supporting grassroots groups such as the Network for Immigrant Justice and Grupo Latino de Acción Directa de Lane County. Her work has earned her numerous accolades, including the City of Eugene’s MLK Award, the NAACP Community Leadership Award, and the Cesar Chavez Commemoration Award. Currently, she serves on multiple advisory boards, including the JUNTOS Committee and Oregon Department of Education’s Latino/a/x & Indigenous Advisory Group. Guadalupe believes in the power of building alliances across communities and issues to create lasting change, fostering a vision of a more equitable world for everyone.
JIM GARCIA
Jim García is a third-generation Mexican American from Southern California, deeply rooted in his cultural heritage and community. His upbringing in a bilingual, bicultural environment influenced his passion for education and equity. Currently, Jim is the Chicano/Latino Student Program Coordinator at Lane Community College, where he teaches leadership courses, coordinates the Puertas Abiertas Leadership Academy for high school students, and mentors students in navigating college access and financial aid. He holds a Bachelor’s in History from the University of Oregon, a Master’s in Multicultural Education from New Mexico State University, and is completing a Master’s in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership with an emphasis on Diversity & Equity at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Jim has also earned over 100 doctoral credits in Critical and Socio-Cultural Studies. A passionate advocate for representation, he works to integrate accurate depictions of Mexican American culture in education and media while helping youth embrace their bicultural identity and develop as leaders.