Unfortunately, sexual misconduct is pervasive in academic field work. Sexual misconduct disproportionately affects womxn and other minorities in the field and impacts career trajectories and retention (Leaper & Starr 2018, Clancy et al. 2014). To address this systemic issue, I co-founded a graduate student-led initiative at Oregon State University called FieldSafe in 2019 and serve on its steering committee. The goal of our program is to confront and eliminate sexual misconduct in fieldwork and remote research. We aim to create a culture of safe and inclusive field experiences at Oregon State University (and beyond) by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of sexual misconduct and providing resources and training to prevent and eliminate sexual misconduct in the field. In addition to the technical trainings associated with my small mammal field research, I have helped organize and provide FieldSafe trainings for my undergraduate mentees and field crews to establish standards for maintaining safe and equitable learning and working spaces during field research.

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In 2021, I helped organize and moderate a OSU College of Science webinar, Promoting Safe Field-Based Research: A web panel discussion about prevention of sexual harassment and assault in the field, to help raise awareness of preventative measures in field research planning. I currently sit on the IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, & Anti-Bias) committee of the American Society of Mammalogists, where I am working on projects to promote field safety planning for at-risk individuals at the professional-level. I co-organized a workshop, Scenario-Based Bystander Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Assault in Mammalogical Field Settings, for the 13th International Mammalogical Congress in Anchorage, AK in Summer 2023.