Tell me what you think I can’t do so I can get started. What a great t-shirt to kick off 2020 and take on the year! Little did we know what was to come. (Shirt from HERdacity, a fabulous organization with a mission of inspiring confidence in women to achieve their professional goals. Confidence. Integrity. Diversity. Inclusion. Choice. Values I can get behind….and do as HERdacity Board President this year. Check out HERdacity’s fabulous podcasts, webinars and programming and get inspired!)

Vandegrift High School, Austin, Texas. The year began with varsity basketball with Kale and varsity wrestling with Zane. With both seasons running at the same time, we were running from game to meet to tournament non-stop through the beginning of March. Kale switched immediately into baseball once basketball was done. Barely got to wear my baseball shirts…just one week of games before all was shut down due to COVID-19.

Girl Day at UT Austin was the last big, in-person event on campus. We hosted over 14,000 K-8^th graders, families, educators, corporate and community partners, faculty, staff and student volunteers for a day of hands-on STEM fun. No coveted Girl Day volunteer t-shirts this year as we go virtual for 10 days of Girl Day 2021 insanity! Registration open at www.girlday.utexas.edu for any and all…anywhere!

Quarantine! Caffeine and alcohol…a balanced mix throughout the time at home. Driveway (or yard…or Zoom…or middle of the cul-de-sac) drinking with friends and neighbors near and far has created stronger connections and friendships. Not all was bad in 2020!

WTFing through work craziness with amazing co-workers with lots of laughing, complaining, innovating, sharing of gratitude, and focusing in on what is most important in our work and for our students. It was a long rough year with transitions to virtual summer camp experiences, classes, and programming….and turnover of great staff. All the while, we worked frustratingly hard to navigate, support, or lend expertise to new, and often reactionary, campus and college-wide engagement in diversity, equity and inclusion work. Definitely said (or yelled) fuck way more this year…at work, at home, at politics, at play. But as the shirt says…every great mom drops the f-bomb! Anticipating more WTFing to continue in 2021…probably lots of it.

And then the murder of George Floyd. As a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion, I study, educate, advocate around anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-discriminatory programs, policies and practices. With my amazing colleagues, I strive to create inclusive spaces, raise awareness, teach how to be a bias buster. And I strive to keep listening and learning as I know my white privilege and whiteness limits my world view. It’s the work we do…day in and day out. As awareness about systemic racism was heightened across the country and on campus, we joined in conversations. We supported our students and colleagues and community. And we often felt the weight of the biased systems in place that do not lend themselves to value this work, this expertise, and these policies and practices. The weight was heavy this year and it is not lifted….but we will not break and we will not be silent and we will continue into 2021 pushing, lifting, advocating, amplifying, instigating, supporting, allying, collaborating.

Texas Tech gear invades my burnt orange wardrobe. A couple new t-shirts in my closet as I don’t think my Longhorn gear will be welcome in Lubbock whenever we can actually visit Kale at college.

Biden-Harris! I did my part to save our democracy and to rid our country of a hateful, vengeful, racist, sexist president. Unfortunately, we still have terrible government “leaders” representing Texas and other parts of this country. This was the year of postcard writing, text banking, sign holding, t-shirt wearing to get out the vote. I recognize the importance of role models and identified completely with getting interrupted and mansplained and ignore…especially in higher education where hierarchical bias is alive and well and crushing. I’m speaking! I am STILL speaking! Until you just don’t want to speak. When people go silent, wonder and ask why. I could not sit by nor be silent with science being attacked (note: if you’re one of those “I don’t wear a mask” or “I’m not getting the vaccine” people, you can just remove yourself from my orbit as you do not need to be in my world).

And yet, WE MADE IT! 2020 was definitely a weird year in so many ways. But there was so much good in the midst of the bad.

Join me on 1.20.2021 for history and HERstory to be made. Let’s hope 2021 brings us much more good!

May your 2021 be full of hope and may you use your privilege to make our world safer, healthier, and more equitable and inclusive.