In celebration of Pride Month, we are highlighting members of the UC San Francisco community who represent the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Staff, faculty and students shared stories of overcoming prejudice, advocating for visibility, fostering inclusivity, and living their authentic selves at work each day.
What advice would you give your younger self? How has your identity influenced your work? "I was aware that most of the people around me were straight. I think I handled not seeing myself represented in academia or most mainstream society by being more open and unapologetic about my identity as a queer man."
What can we all do better? "Queer people need a seat at the table with institutional leadership where they can share their experiences. Until our voices are heard, and our existences respected, at all levels of an institution, we cannot be properly supported."
"Robbie is currently a PhD student in the Tetrad Graduate Program at UCSF. From south Florida, Robbie attended the University of Miami and received his BS in Neuroscience. At UCSF, he is a member of James Fraser’s and Sy Redding’s labs using single-molecule microscopy and structural techniques to study interactions between chitin-binding proteins and chitin.
When he’s not doing research, Robbie enjoys working with others to further diversity, equity, and inclusion. Robbie’s identity has a queer Latinx has influenced his commitment to promoting intersectionality and allyship in academia."
"[Intersectionality] takes into account people’s overlapping identities and experiences in order to understand the complexity of prejudices they face. (
YWBoston.org)"