NIEHS celebrated Black History Month Feb.24by welcomingSamantha-Rae Dickenson，Ed.D。，来自国家（NIH）Office of Equity，Diversity and Inclusion（EDI）。Dickenson，a principal strategist with EDI，spoke on“Your Best Life Is on the Other Side of Fear:Navigating Life asa Black DEI Practitioner.”Her talk was part of the NIEHS 2021 Diversity Speaker Series。

“The leadership team within an organization should absolutely take full responsibility for creating inclusive workspaces，but employees can also help promote and create inclusion by invoking allyship，”said Dickenson。（Photo courtesy of Samantha-Rae Dickenson）

Dickenson outlined her and colleages’work in EDI，as well as her personal journey to this current role。Ericka Reid，Ph.D.，welcomed Dickenson and the audience。Reid directs the NIEHS隔离系数和故障率and chairs the Diversity Speaker Series committee。

Danny Dickerson，director of the EDI Division of Inclusion and Diversity，introduced Dickenson and kicked off the event by high lighting his office’s charge.“We try to make sure that all who come to the NIH campus have the same level playing field regardless of race，sexual origin，[and other factors]，”he said。

Engage communities，influence change

Dickenson described her role as principal strategist by stating the importance of working with the community she serves to influence。“Engaging communities is very hard work，because it requires that we are first self-reflective，”she said。

Specifically，Dickenson works to identify and eliminate barriers in outreach，recruitment，and employment of Black and African American employees。She also works to build an inclusive workplace where employees can actively use their talents and contribute to the success of NIH。

Dickenson illustrated the importance of her work by referencing“工作While Black:Stories从Black corporate America，“published in June2020by Fortune magazine。She pointed to the story of Charlotte，a37-year-old Black woman who said，“My first manager said that I was too direct，aggressive，and just scary.”

“We know that people across the government sector may share similar experiences，”Dickenson said，noting that the article focused on corporate settings。

齿距，齿距

Reid chairs the Diversity Speaker Series committee，which invites speakers throughout the year。（Photo courtesy of Ericka Reid）

Dickenson’s passion for diversity，equity，and inclusion（DEI）began when she moved to the public health field。While pursuing her master’s degree，Dickenson first realized the disparities in access to resources and health care across racial groups。

Following graduation，she tooka leap of faith and moved to Silver Springs，Maryland，to transition to the field of accreditation in higher education。In her new role，Dickenson was one of two Black women in the organization and the youngest employee。

She suggested that these factors contributed to the microaggressions she experienced there。“Iwas constantly asked about my hair and why I changed my hair so much，”she said。Yet when non-Black colleages changed their hair，they were complimented instead of questioned。While conducting site visits，“Iwas often assumed to be the group’s secretary，”she said。

These experiences prompted Dickenson to focus her doctoral research on racial microaggressions Black women face in the workplace。She resigned from her job to fully move into the field of DEI。

总功率

Even though Dickenson experienced microaggressions in her accreditation role，she also came to fully understand the power of allyship（see lowersidebar）。Dickenson credits allyship as akey component in an inclusive work environment。It also helped her overcome big hurdles。

“When I look back at incidents that，at the time，I was so scared of and thought were moments of defeat，I see now that they were some of the most significant opportunities in my career and the biggest turning points in my life，”she said。

（Sanya Mehta is a postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award fellow in the NIEHS Matrix Biology Group.）