YPA Chair Election

Christopher JF Cameron

I joined the YPA in the winter of 2021 as a member of the Symposium Committee. In spring 2021, I became the co-coordinator for the Symposium Committee and helped organize the 2022 event with a group of very talented postdocs. The committee’s goals for the 2022 symposium were to improve accessibility and postdoc representation at the event. I believe we succeeded in our goals by holding the event in a hybrid format (in-person/Zoom) and increasing departmental outreach/representation. This experience as co-coordinator showed me the passion and hard work YPA members devote to their roles. As YPA co-chair, I will bring my leadership experience to this role and work hard to advocate for all Yale postdocs/ARS. I look forward to supporting YPA committees achieve their goals and interacting with the broader postdoc community alongside the current (and future) co-chair. I appreciate this opportunity to be considered for the YPA co-chair position and give back to the YPA. Thank you for voting!

Leila Fletcher

I joined the YPA shortly after arriving at Yale and became Co-Coordinator of the Community and Networking Committee. In this role I have organized many social events for postdocs, such as happy hours, museum and botanical garden tours, kayaking, nature walks, holiday parties and more. I am running for Co-Chair in order to give back to an organization that has made me feel welcome during my time at Yale. Given my experiences on my committee, I think about not only the connections that YPA helps postdocs forge with each other, but also the ties between the various YPA committees, as well as the YPA’s connections with the greater New Haven community and other organizations at Yale, such as the OPA, OISS, YBPA, etc. If I am elected as Co-Chair I would continue to strengthen our relationships with these groups in order to expand our community and build our support network. I would also continue the work of the current Co-Chairs by acting as a voice for the postdoc and ARS community to ensure that our needs are met.

Cintia Sagawa

I joined Yale as a postdoc during the Winter of 2021. Since then, I’ve participated in several YPA activities, became a YPA Professional Development Committee member, and became a co-coordinator in 2022. As a YPA co-chair, I’m motivated to advocate for our needs with the administration, help underrepresented fellow postdocs like myself to gain professional skills by promoting equity and supporting events across different departments, and celebrate our diverse backgrounds to keep our YPA inclusive and welcoming to all members. In the past two years, I’ve helped to organize and host a wide range of events and panel discussions that aimed to promote networking among current and former postdocs and ARSs from different Departments at Yale. In partnership with the Office for Postdoctoral Affairs and the Office of Career Strategy, I’ve advocated and assisted in organizing workshops that covered Scientific writing, online branding, networking, and interviewing. I’ve also recently joined the Yale Career Development Leaders Program representing the YPA to connect with graduate student associations and groups to collaborate in more events. My goal has always been to help our YPA community to enjoy all the resources that Yale can offer us.