Our Work
The °®¶¹´«Ã½ Leaders Evolving and Accountable to Progress (MicroBio-LEAP) project was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). MicroBio-LEAP focused on training leaders to foster progress and impact while emodying access and accountability. Each leader worked to promote sustained cultural change in the microbial sciences to make the field more welcoming for all individuals.
Our Mission: Training Leaders to Leverage Influence for Progress, Impact, Access & Accountability
Given their high-level positions, microbiology leaders have the capability to influence policies and practices that affect the culture of their workplaces and organizations. The ToL Scholars Program will give leaders the knowledge and skills necessary to take action toward cultural change. ToL scholars will:
- Challenge their unconscious biases.
- Increase their intercultural awareness and skillset.
- Learn how to create a psychologically safe working environment, which encourages access and accountability.
At the program’s conclusion, the scholars will hold the strategies and skills necessary to operate as leadership champions and foster welcoming environments across the field.
MicroBio-LEAP's Theory of Change
ASM’s existing efforts focus on supporting and uplifting everyone within and across the microbial sciences. The Training of Leaders (ToL) Scholars Program focuses on individuals in leadership positions.
Leaders can function as cultural change agents within the microbial sciences, as they possess influence to incorporate impactful policies and practices into their workplaces'. The goal of the MicroBio-LEAP program is that, as leaders’ workplaces embrace positive change, the microbial sciences will experience a cultural paradigm shift, one that creates a more welcoming environment and an enhanced sense of belonging for all.
