Rockefeller celebrates inaugural DEI awards

Rockefeller President Richard P. Lifton and Chief Diversity Officer Ashton Murray with awardees Yuriria Vázquez, Chad Morton, Elizabeth Campbell, and Sadye Paez.

On June 12, Rockefeller’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion celebrated its inaugural Inclusive Excellence Awards, an honor acknowledging the positive impact of those who have helped to broaden and bring the university community together.

The ceremony, an intimate gathering at the Faculty Club, honored four community members who were selected by an Awards Review Committee convened by ODEI from leaders across the University community, after being nominated by Rockefeller colleagues.

“I’m delighted to support and highlight these individuals who are working daily to ensure that we’re living up to our best selves,” said Chief Diversity Officer Ashton Murray in his opening remarks.

Murray’s office established the new awards to recognize community members whose achievements in the DEI space have been exemplary, much in the way academic achievements have long been recognized.

Honoree Sadye Paez, a member of Rockefeller’s staff, was introduced by nominator Erich D. Jarvis. In addition to serving as program director in the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, headed by Jarvis, Paez is also currently the co-chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (JEDI) of the Earth Biogenome Project, an international initiative working to sequence the genomes of all 1.8 million species on the planet.

“Sadye is known as a powerhouse among her peers, and the genome community worldwide recognizes how she’s trying to make sure that this massive project is conducted in an equitable way,” said Jarvis.

Chad Morton, a trainee in the Ruta lab received recognition in the graduate student category. He was introduced by Juliana Rhee, a fellow lab member and a co-organizer of the Race, Gender, and Science course in 2023, which focused on examining the sociohistorical contexts that shape scientific research and developing skills and tools for normalizing discussions of diversity and inclusion in academic environments for Rockefeller trainees.

“Chad has been an integral part of the Rockefeller Inclusive Science Initiative (RiSI) and many DEI initiatives, including the formation of the DEI office itself,” said Rhee. “When he was a RiSI co-chair, Chad emerged as a leader on campus in moments in which challenging issues of gender inclusivity, racial tensions, and political animosity have had to be faced.”

Postdoc Yuriria Vázquez was also honored. Vázquez, a research associate in the Hudspeth lab, regularly participates in Brain Awareness Week, and engages Spanish speaking communities in the citywide annual campaign to increase public awareness about the brain and neuroscience research.

She was nominated by Geena Ianni, who wrote, “Dr. Vázquez has been a vocal supporter and champion of both women and underrepresented minorities in science … She is passionate about engaging the broader NYC community in her love for neuroscience and sensorimotor transformations.”

The faculty award went to Elizabeth Campbell, who was named head of the Laboratory of Molecular Pathogenesis just this month. Campbell is known across campus as a staunch advocate for diversity in science, serving on the faculty advisory committees for many students and those from underrepresented minority groups both at Rockefeller and at collaborating institutions. She has also directly mentored roughly 30 SURF and outreach students during her time at Rockefeller.

“The impact of your work is seen and felt by many, and I am so honored to award you the faculty prize,” said Murray.

“It was truly noteworthy the number of impressive nominees my office received in our first year of granting this award,” said Murray. “It’s a real testament to the vibrancy of our DEI community at Rockefeller.”