Dear SANDSWA members,
As we enter the new year and establish our routines, Monica May and I wanted to take a moment to introduce your new leadership team and thank you for being such a wonderfully fun and engaged community.
Monica (VP 2022-23) and I are transitioning out of our respective roles on the board to allow others a chance at gaining leadership experience and deeper connections within SANDSWA. Your new president and vice president team are Nicole Mlynaryk, Assistant Director of Research Communications at UC San Diego Health Sciences, and Josh Baxt, a freelance writer and editor in healthcare, public policy, and more. We’re confident that they’ll make a powerful team in the coming year.
In addition to gaining a new president and vice president, we’ve also just welcomed several SANDSWA members to the board. Melissa Miller, Michelle “Mae” Lee, Miles Martin, Brittany Hook, Niko Komin, and Susanne “Clara” Bard each bring their own experiences, connections, and talents to the team. If you haven’t already read up on them, you can do so now on the SANDSWA blog!
We’ve had some exciting events this past year, including tours of the San Diego Comic-Con Museum, the Living Coast Discovery Center, Ocean Discovery Institute, and Coastal Roots Farm; book club meet-ups and happy hours across San Diego; and a potluck celebrating SANDSWA’s fourth birthday.
We hope you can join us for more in-person events this year! If you haven’t already, don’t forget to renew your membership for the 2023 calendar year. Your support helps us offer free events for all members, and covers resources like the job and award opportunity listings in our monthly newsletter. We offer discounted rates for students and members experiencing financial hardship.
Thank you all again for making SANDSWA such an accepting and welcoming space! We hope to see you at a future SANDSWA event. Don’t forget to check the Events page for future meet-ups!
Sincerely,
Xochitl Rojas-Rocha and Monica May
SANDSWA 