The Advanced Photon Source
a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council

PSC digital Suite

“A diverse workforce, with a variety of perspectives and experiences, working in an inclusive environment where all voices are heard and contributions are valued, will unlock new scientific and technological frontiers to positively impact our community, nation and world.” – Argonne Director Paul Kearns

The future success of Argonne depends on our ability to recruit and train a diverse workforce. The Photon Sciences Division (PSC) and its user community represent a wide spectrum of ages, races, abilities, gender identities, national origins, religions and experiences. It is the combination of all of those backgrounds, plus our different research disciplines, levels of education and academic affiliations, that help make this a collaborative and innovative division to work in.

The laboratory’s core values of Impact, Safety, Integrity, Respect and Teamwork are the foundation for this community. It is up to all of us to build on those core values to create an equitable and inclusive culture. Argonne is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion for all employees, and the laboratory has launched an action plan to address systemic issues of inequality.

Each of us can help to ensure that all PSC employees and users have the opportunity to work in an equitable and inclusive culture, and to advance to the fullest extent of their skills and abilities.

The PSC DE&I council is composed of representatives from all four PSC divisions and reports to the Lab Director's Council. Our mission, vision and FY2021 Goals can be found here. 
Everyone has a place in the DEI space™

April's Voice of PSC: Mental Health  (4/21/22)

"Not every day is good, but there is something good in every day" 

 

The average delay between symptoms onset and treatment is 11 years:

  • Why so long? leading reasons are 1) stigma, 2) financial, 3) cultural, 4) lack of parity with care (mental vs physical)
  • Symptoms can develop insidiously ("boiling frog syndrome"); you don't realize life is not supposed to be so hard, until you get a diagnosis and the right treatment. 
  • Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 10-34 in the U.S. and the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S
mentalwellness

Navigating ways to find help:

  • Speak to a trusted family member, friend, co-worker or your physician, who can direct you to the right providers (psychiatrist vs therapy…)
  • COVID and the democratization of telehealth has made mental health care easier than ever!
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP):
    • Available to all employees and their family members
    • Provides onsite or virtual therapy 
    • Helps find adequate care within your network 
  • Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): ABLED hosts 2 support groups: 
    • Mental Health and Wellness Peer Support Group: every 2nd Thursday of the month, 12PM (Join on Teams). 
    • Parenting on the Spectrum Support Group: every 3rd Wednesday of the month, 12PM (Join on Teams)


Break the stigma - It's okay to not be okay! 

Mental Health & children:

  • Children’s mental health during COVID-19: 
    • 1 in 7 children has been directly affected by lockdowns
    • more than 1.6 billion children have suffered some loss of education
  • Do not underestimate and/or dismiss your child's feelings: the reason might not be "a big deal", but the feelings are real.  
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) tips for kids (works for adults too!): 
    • Anger Iceberg: anger (behavior) is displayed outwardly, but other emotions (feelings) may be hidden beneath the surface; help your child understand what lies underneath.  
    • Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs):
      • Your first thought when you have a strong feeling or reaction about something 
      • Reflex rather than rational thinking
      • Learn to recognize the 9 types of ANTs:
        • All or nothing (black or white thinking)
        • Fortune-telling (I'll fail)
        • Mind-reading (they find me stupid)
        • Always, never... 
      • Fight your ANTs back
    • When life gives you lemons, add water and sugar: find the glimmer ("sugar") that sweetens up the situation. 
DEI Events

Voice of PSC, 1-2PM: every 3rd Thursday of the month on Teams

  • Next meeting May 19th, 2022 at 1PM; Topic: Autism
  • Updates on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activities
  • Open forum to share thoughts, ideas and concerns
  • Please do not hesitate to send us topic suggestions at rodolakis@anl.gov or sikes@anl.gov
 
    dance

    Across the lab: 

    • Thursday, May 5 (1 to 2 p.m.) WIST In-Reach Subcommittee Monthly Meeting. The In-Reach Subcommittee focuses on WIST’s mission to provide leadership and resources that promote the success of women in scientific and technical positions at the Laboratory. All Argonne employees are welcome to attend a meeting or join. Contact Lauren Boldon to be added to the recurring meeting invite.
       
    • Monday, May 9 (Noon to 1 p.m.) PACE. Parenting and Caregiving ERG hosts informal virtual lunch meetings every second Monday of the month. Everyone is welcome. Topics will be announced before the meeting in their Slack channel and through the group's mailing list. Join on Zoom.
       
    • Tuesday, May 10 (11:30 a.m.) Argonne African American (AAA) ERG monthly meeting. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month. Join on Teams.
       
    • Wednesday, May 11 (12:45 to 1:30 p.m.) WIST Pipeline Development & Outreach Subcommittee Monthly Meeting. The Pipeline Development & Outreach Subcommittee focuses on WIST’s mission to support and implement programs that encourage, develop, and utilize the full potential of all women in science and technology. This allows us to engage with girls and young women and encourage them to consider STEM fields. All Argonne employees are welcome to attend a meeting or join! Contact Sunaree Hamilton to be added to the recurring meeting invite.
       
    • Thursday, May 12 (Noon) Spectrum ERG Monthly Meeting. Meetings are held on the second Thursday of every month. Join on Zoom.
       
    • Wednesday, May 18 (Noon to 1 p.m.) ABLED. Parenting on the Spectrum Support Group. The group is geared toward parents who are raising children on the autism spectrum, or other related disorders, such as Fragile X, Downs Syndrome, anxiety, etc. Join on Teams.
       
    • Thursday, May 19 (Noon to 1 p.m.) ABLED. Argonne Backs, Listens, and Educates for Disabilities Monthly Meeting aims to create a community for disability advocates, employees with disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities. Our motto is “It’s OK!” — It’s OK to share, ask questions, and to say, “I need help!” Join on Teams.
       
    • Thursday, May 19 (1 p.m.) Voice of PSC. Monthly meetings are held every third Thursday of the month. Discussions vary each month. The group usually will share a link to a quick video that explains the topic to be discussed at the meeting. It's an open forum atmosphere, and all are encouraged to participate. Join on Teams.
       
    • Friday, May 20 (10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.) BIS I-LEAD monthly meeting. Meetings are held the third Friday of every month. Join on Teams.
       
    • Tuesday, May 24 (11 a.m.) Veterans ERG Meeting. The Veterans ERG is open to all veterans, family and friends of veterans, veteran supporters, and Argonne employees. It connects Veterans and other Argonne community members to serve the community, create on-site awareness, and support veterans’ needs as they work to contribute to Argonne’s mission. Join on Teams.
       
    • Thursday, May 26 (Noon to 1 p.m.) ABLED. Cancer Support Group Meeting is available to the entire Argonne community. Open to cancer patients, survivors, and caretakers, the group aims to offer a compassionate forum for sharing ideas and advice and lending encouragement. In keeping with our core values of respect and teamwork, the group allows members to support colleagues with similar experiences. Join on Teams.
       
    • Thursday, May 26 (11 a.m. to Noon) CELS DEI Committee Monthly Meeting. Meetings are held on the last Thursday of the month. Join on Teams.

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    Past Events

    PSC DEI Quarterly E-News:

     

    Women's History Month & Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month (3/17/22)

     

    Don't put people in boxes and Black History Month (2/17/22)

     

    Bystander effect & bystander intervention (1/20/22)

    • Please find the meeting slides here.
    • What is the bystander effect? Did you know that the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress? Check out this 3 minutes video about the bystander effect
    • What is bystander intervention? You might think that if you ever heard/saw something happening, it would be obvious what to do. But in fact, it's not uncommon for people to be caught off guard. Sometimes it's because the behavior is so outrageous that you can't quite believe what you're hearing/seeing. Or, it happens so fast that you miss an opportunity to say something in the moment. That's why a little forethought and/or training can be helpful : What is bystander intervention? (6 minutes video)
    • Hollaback trainings: free trainings on diverse topics including bystander intervention:

     

    Allyship Success in Research and Development (11/10/21):

    • Hosted by Dale Carnegie, this webinar focuses on how we can create diversity of thought and increase emotional intelligence to strengthen our collaboration, problem solving, and decision making within Argonne.
      • Strengthen our emotional intelligence to build better relationships with other
      • Support a vibrant work culture by improving our interactions with others
      • Utilize inclusion best practices to strengthen culture and relationships
      • Apply principles that build trust and rapport with others
      • Identify opportunities to improve relationships with team members and other colleagues
      • Make commitments to ourselves and others to help bridge differences
    • For more info please email Arista Thurman athurman@anl.gov or Becky Sikes sikes@anl.gov

     

    Cross-Council Collaborative Learning Club:

    Implicit bias workshop (Aug-Sep 2020):

    • Equity-mindedness: Identifying and Interrupting Implicit Bias through Candid Conversations - Dr Coleman
      (Slides to come).
       

    July 7th, 2020: Fighting Racism in the Workplace: What You Can Do?

    June 25th, 2020 - PSC: Conversation on Systemic Racism

    June 10th, 2020 - A Strike For Black Lives:
      05.04.2022